


I Found Home With You

by EverySingleCatEver



Category: Supernatural, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I Tried, POV Original Female Character, Protective Bucky Barnes, Slow Burn, bucky goes hunting, cursing, shameless self-insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:34:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28350972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverySingleCatEver/pseuds/EverySingleCatEver
Summary: Right after the events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier Bucky's on the run and meets someone interesting in an alley in Brooklyn. Two years later he's ready to meet her again. What will he find when he does? Will Bucky be able to hack the Hunter life? Will he fall in love? (If you don't know already know the answer to that last question... I can't help you.)
Relationships: Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester & Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21





	1. How They Meet

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'll be completely honest I wrote this for entirely selfish reasons and had no intention to publish it anywhere. My friend got ahold of it and told me that if I didn't she would. No real inspiration other than I got a really specific idea for fanfiction in my head and then I found that it wasn't written so I had to. Sucks when that happens. It is not cannon compliant after Captain America: The Winter Soldier nor it is really all that compliant with the Supernatural timeline. Can technically be reader insert if you replace yourself with female oc, but that was not my original intention for it at all, so make your own choice and don't come after me for it. Constructive criticism only please. I will update when I can. School tends to suck all creativity out of me.

Prologue

Mare had only been in New York City for three days and she was already tired of it. In fact she had yet to visit a single city that she could tolerate for more than a week. She didn’t like the way the buildings loomed above her on all sides, she didn’t like the crowds, she didn’t like the constant honking and screeching and screaming of sirens, and she especially didn’t like the way she couldn’t see stars. It only made sense after all. She’d grown up a hunter and that had meant jumping from small town to small town, living in motels and cheap rented housing. Sometimes even abandoned houses and random cabins. The stars had been her only constant and it felt wrong to look up and not be able to see them.

Normally she’d stay far away from city hunts and stick to small and medium towns that were being plagued by the supernatural. This time, however, she was on the trail of a werewolf that had been eluding her for three states. He was a born werewolf, which meant that he could change whenever the mood struck him, and it usually struck him when there was a cute, young, blonde, woman around. He didn’t change them, just played with them, killed them, and ate their hearts.

Mare was tired of following bodies, but she’d gotten a tip from Garth. Supposedly Michael (the werewolf) had a place to crash somewhere in Brooklyn. She couldn’t search the entirety of Brooklyn, she knew that much, but she’d narrowed down the most likely places based on what she knew of his habits. However, that still left a shit ton of ground to cover. Where she was currently was the third place she’d searched. The housing around here was abandoned and there were many homeless people around. She’d asked them all about Michael, given a description, but no one had known anything. Or at least they hadn’t told her anything. 

She was getting desperate though. The first night of the full moon was in two days. He’d be even harder to kill then and the bodies would start piling up. That was the last thing Mare wanted. 

A sudden scream tore through the night air and made Mare whip around. It was a feminine scream tinged with what Mare had come to identify as that particular tone of sheer terror that came when you were faced with the unknown. She bolted in the direction of the scream, gun up. Even if it wasn’t Michael, something or someone was still attacking a girl. A glimpse of movement at the end of a dead end alley made her pause and take a few steps back.

The alley was dimly lit and Mare moved forward slowly. A man had a young blonde teen pinned against the far wall. He had his hand across her mouth and that hand had long sharp claws on it. Bingo. Unfortunately she couldn’t just shoot him because the bullet might hit the teen. Thankfully, though Michael was so distracted with his newfound prey that he didn’t notice Mare’s approach. She grabbed him by the back of the collar and yanked him off of the girl.

“Run,” she said to the girl and shoved Michael into the brick. He snarled and flashed his fangs. The girl didn’t wait any longer and bolted.

Michael snarled again, but Mare cut him off by aiming her gun at him. He knocked the gun out of her hand and came at her claws first. She dodged his swipes and went for one of her silver knives. But before she could another man came out of seemingly nowhere. He lifted Michael off of her and in an impressive display of strength threw him a few feet away. Then he put himself between the two of them. Great, the last thing she needed was a Good Samaritan. The man was tall and broad and obviously strong, but that didn’t mean he could deal with claws and fangs.

“Leave now,” the man said.

Michael stood up from where he’d been thrown and into the light of the street lamp. He grinned and didn’t even try to hide his otherness and the man took a surprised half a step back. Michael lunged with preternatural speed and went in for a killing bite. The man jerked his left arm up just in time and Michael’s teeth sank into it. Only they didn’t because there was the sound of teeth crunching on metal and he reared back with a howl.

Mare swore in surprise. Michael’s teeth had torn the man’s shirt sleeve and now she could see that his arm was metal. It gleamed dully in the low light. That was so not your standard prosthetic.

Michael faced them again and Mare could see that some of his teeth were broken and bleeding. He stood up fully, “Well, I was just going to change you,” that was a lie; he had totally been going for the kill. “Now though I’m going to kill you both and take my sweet time doing it.”

Yeah, well Mare had had enough of this whole thing and while he’d been talking she’d picked up her gun. She stepped slightly to the side of the man and double tapped Michael in the chest. He made a choking sound and collapsed to the ground, dead.

The man whirled to face her and in hindsight she probably should have lowered the gun quicker, but she didn’t know who this man was or what he wanted. However, looking into his eyes and taking into account his prosthesis it was pretty clear he was a veteran. He had that ‘I’ve seen too much’ look in his eye. He glanced down to the gun then back at her and something changed. Panic shown in his eyes then flat nothing, definitely a flashback and she was suddenly slammed against the brick wall. 

The breath left her lungs and she just managed to move so that he couldn’t pin her legs with his own. His metal hand had her right wrist pinned to the wall. She kept a hold on the gun, though. His other arm, normal as far as she could feel had her other arm pinned against her throat hard enough that her air was being cut off. So, she did the only thing she could and slammed her knee between his legs as hard as she could.

His mouth opened, but no sound came out. His eyes widened in pain and his grip loosened just a fraction. It was enough though and she wrenched her left arm free and hit him in the face with her elbow. She shoved him in the chest then and when he’d backed off still not all the way back from that first hit, she smacked him in the temple with the butt of her gun. He hit the ground and stayed there.

Mare moved her free hand to her throat and took a few deep breaths. Her throat and wrist were a little sore, but it was nothing to be too concerned about. She flicked the safety of the gun on and then slid it into the back of her pants. Okay, she’d be the first to admit aiming a gun at a veteran probably hadn’t been her best idea ever, but it could be worse.

The man was still breathing and seemed okay, other than the fact that she’d knocked him out. Now though she was faced with a dilemma. What to do with him? She couldn’t very well just leave him there, not after she’d knocked him out. Granted he had attacked her first, but she’d also aimed a gun at him and as someone who also didn’t react well to a gun in the face, she couldn’t really blame him for that. Also if she left him there she didn’t know whether or not he would wake up before the body was discovered. However, if she risked moving him he might wake up before she left and considering she’d not only assaulted him, but also committed a felony in front of him, she probably needed to get out of there before he woke up, not after.

Eventually Mare sighed and leaned down to lift the man onto her shoulders into a fireman’s carry. She paused and waited for a moment. He didn’t stir. She shifted his weight a little and walked out of the alley careful to step around Michael’s dead body.

“Dude,” she muttered, “Your metal arm makes you too damn heavy.” Not for the first time she was glad of her 5’10” height and god damn linebacker shoulders. Okay, that was probably an exaggeration. Her shoulders were not comically wide, but the best way to describe her frame had always been Amazonian. At least that had been the way her mother had described it when she’d been an insecure teenager. Now though she was grateful of her height and broad frame. Most of the time anyway.

Still, though, she could only carry him a few blocks. She set him down and leaned him up against the wall of another dead end alley. Mare glanced around and listened for a few moments. She heard nothing out of the ordinary, so she left him there and started the walk back to her truck. Hopefully he’d wake up after an hour or so and then go back to whatever he’d been doing before he’d tried to play knight in shining armor. She still felt kinda bad about knocking him out and leaving him in an alley though. Oh, well it wasn’t like she was ever going to see him again.


	2. So Monsters are Real...That's Nice

Two and a half years later

Bucky sat down in front of his laptop with a cup of coffee. He’d just gotten out of the shower after having finished another work out with Steve and Sam. His phone had given him another alert on a possible sighting of Marella Jackson. She was the woman he’d met in that Brooklyn alleyway. The woman who had killed that… thing and knocked him out, before leaving him in a different alley a few blocks away.

At the time he hadn’t had long to dwell on the events of that night (Steve had found him a few days later), and he’d for the most part convinced himself that he’d made it all up. However, in the last couple of months he’d become convinced that he hadn’t made it all up. Even though when he’d casually mentioned werewolves Steve had looked at him like he was crazy. Well how was he supposed to know! The world had gotten far bigger than it had been when he’d fallen off that train back in the forties. Werewolves weren’t outside of the realm of possibility!

So, he’d done the only thing that made sense and started trying to track the woman down. He’d tried to do some research on werewolves and other related creatures, but the information was all over the place and changed depending on what he read. The only thing they all had in common was that silver was a werewolves' weakness. And frankly he still wasn’t 100% sure that had even been a werewolf. Sometimes he still thought he was bat shit crazy for even thinking it, but it was possible for there to be things even the Avengers hadn’t faced. Besides he was pretty sure he’d found a reference to something similar in old SHIELD files, but they were vague at best and completely made up at worst.

It had taken him months to even find her name in the first place. Granted that could have something to do with the fact that he was still new to today’s technology, but he was still farther along than most of the Avengers suspected. Only Natasha had any idea, but that was because she’d started teaching him basic hacking and computer skills. He’d progressed further than she knew though.

The woman’s name (he was pretty sure) was Marella Alice Jackson. The only reason he’d found that was because he’d caught a slightly blurry picture of her face from a camera on the outskirts of Brooklyn. It matched the picture of a woman who’d been wanted by the FBI 7 years ago for various crimes including credit card fraud, B&E, assault, assault with a deadly weapon, 1st degree murder, and desecration of multiple graves. The last one was somehow the most concerning. However, 6 years ago the FBI had announced her dead after she’d been found stabbed in the chest. No evidence as to who had done it had been found and the body had been cremated. A clerical mistake on someone’s part he was sure. You weren’t supposed to cremate bodies involved in active murder investigations.

Weird though because when he’d read the autopsy report there had been silver particles left in the wound. He was a little too paranoid to convince himself that this was a coincidence considering the information he’d learned about werewolves, but he wasn’t sure how it was connected. Not to mention that he’d looked up the police report of the werewolf she’d shot in that alley and the bullet had been made of silver. However nothing else weird had shown up, which he would have expected considering he’d seen the claws and teeth himself. It was possible that there had been a cover up, so that people wouldn’t be alarmed, but again he wasn’t sure.

With the help of technology though he’d started tracking her down. Or tried seeing as every lead he’d turned up so far had been a dead end. It was honestly impressive and a little concerning that it was taking longer to track her down, than it had for Steve to track him down. Then again Steve had had Tony’s help, however, there was no way Bucky was going to ask Tony for help on this; for multiple reasons. Not the least of which being that Tony still hadn’t forgiven him. Not that Bucky blamed him in the least; he’d killed his parents and Bucky hadn’t even forgiven himself for it. Or really for any of the other killing he’d done. Frankly, Tony could be considered a saint for even letting Bucky stay at the compound. Not that you could ever call Tony Stark a saint.

His nightmares weren’t as bad as they had been and now his bad days were what his good days used to be. It was progress, but everything wasn’t peachy keen. For one thing pretty much everyone at the compound was still scared of him and while he didn’t necessarily want to talk with anyone, the hostility coming at him from all angles was not good for his mental health. Not to mention that while Steve was still his best friend, Steve was also still mourning the old Bucky. He’d made it clear that he would never be that man again and while Steve had accepted that, Bucky still caught Steve looking at him like a kicked puppy sometimes. Steve also still treated him like he was fragile, as did all of the

Avengers, except for Sam. In fact most of the time Bucky was really grateful for Sam’s teasing. It made him feel normal again, or as normal as he could ever be. Not that he’d ever show his appreciation. Missions were odd too. He wasn’t yet cleared to go on major ones, but for the smaller ones that he was it was still pretty awkward. Kinda hard to focus on the mission when half the people there are watching you and waiting for you to snap.

He tapped a few buttons on the laptop and brought up the latest footage. It was from a gas station off of I-79 in the southwest part of Pennsylvania. That was the closest she’d been to his current location in upstate New York yet. He zoomed in the video and ran a facial match. Success! Bucky stood up and threw his hands up in victory. “Finally,” he mumbled to himself and sat back down to get more information.

As he took another sip of his coffee though, he realized that he'd have to come up with an excuse to leave. He wasn’t confined to the compound, after all he wasn’t even a wanted man anymore. With the help of Tony’s lawyers and the fact that someone had decrypted and made viral old HYDRA videos (of him being brainwashed and or tortured) he had been officially pardoned by all of the countries part of the UN.

He sat back in his chair, lukewarm coffee in hand and considered possible excuses. The one he liked the best was simple. He’d just tell everyone that he wanted to travel the US by road. There were a lot of sights to see and it would be easy to convince people that he needed a break. It wasn’t a complete lie either. He’d always wanted to see the Grand Canyon and go to Yellowstone. Yes, a road trip would be perfect. Now he just had to convince everyone that he was capable of it.  
…  
The gas station attendant had been looking at her weird. The fifty- something year old woman had been watching her pretty much from the moment she’d stepped into the place.

Mare was the only customer, but that wasn’t much of a surprise at 4:00 in the morning. Then again surely the woman had seen stranger and more dangerous-looking things than Mare in this Seven Eleven, especially at this time.

The woman was attempting to be subtle as she watched Mare pick out her preferred beef jerky flavors. Then she walked over to the fridges that lined the back wall and picked out a bottle of water. The jerky would rehydrate in her stomach when she ate it and drank the water. It would make her fuller without eating as much. She went up to the counter and grabbed a two piece Reese’s because after the hunt she’d just finished, she deserved it.

Mare placed the three items on the counter and fished her wallet out of her jacket. “Anything else for you sweetie?” There was that strange look again. Was there something on her face?

“No ma’am.” The woman started scanning her items and putting them in a bag.

“$9.12.”

She pulled out two fives and handed them to the woman.

“88 cents is your change and here’s your receipt.” She placed the change in Mare’s hand along with the receipt.

“Thanks.”

Mare moved to grab the bag when the woman suddenly said, “You know, you don’t have to stay with him right?”

She jerked her head up in surprise, “What?” She looked at the woman confused. What was she talking about? Who was him?  
Now the woman wasn’t hiding the pity in her gaze (so that’s what that had been). “I just mean that there are places out there and people who can help you. You don’t have to stay.”

For a long second Mare just looked at the women in disbelief. Did she really look so bad that she looked like a battered woman? That was what the woman was implying wasn’t it? Granted it had been a few days since she’d showered and gotten decent sleep, but did she really look that bad?

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time that someone had implied such a thing about her. It didn’t happen often, but it caught her off guard every time. Apparently something about the lack of sleep, occasional bruises, and general disheveledness made people think she was abused. Nope, just really tired from a double vengeful spirit hunt.

She knew the woman meant well despite the pitying gaze, so she just muttered, “Thanks for the advice,” and left.

“What a perfect end to the day,” she muttered to herself as she walked back to her truck. It was a great boost to her ego really, it was. She unlocked her truck and tossed her bag in the passenger seat, before getting in. She slammed the door and leaned her head on the steering wheel.

“Fuck.” She was really tired and that interaction hadn't helped. The last hunt had really taken it out of her. It was supposed to have been a simple salt n’ burn, but then there had to be twin spirits. And not just regular twins, for whatever reason the parents had been ashamed of twin girls and had only let one out of the house at a time. They’d acted as one person for the entirety of their lives. When they’d died one had been buried and the other cremated. She’d gotten the one that had been buried and hadn’t even realized there was another one until the person who owned the house (she’d saved him the night before and given him her number) called back to say that he was trapped.

Getting into the house was the easy part, the spirit had wanted her inside, probably for revenge. Thankfully the man who she’d saved had remembered that salt stopped a spirit and had put himself in a circle of it. At that point Mare had just had to find whatever object the spirit was tied to, while avoiding it and the objects it kept throwing around. The object had been an old hairbrush stuffed up the chimney. Really she probably wouldn’t have even found it at all, except that the spirit was really pissed at her and accidentally dislodged it while it had been throwing things around.

It was then that she remembered that she’d been hit in the face by something, though admittedly she hadn’t been sure what and still wasn’t. That had probably caused a bruise that surely added to the whole ‘you get knocked around look’ she was supporting, apparently.

Mare checked in the mirror on the sun visor and yes she had a nice purple and blue bruise right on the apple of her left cheek. She huffed and pushed the visor back up and started the car. There was a motel less than half a mile away that’d she passed on the way to find gas. She’d grab a room there and crash for a day or two, catch up on sleep, and then she’d find her next hunt.

Normally she would leave town the morning after a hunt and not the night of, however, the commotion of her ghost hunting had not escaped the neighbors notice. That meant police would follow and considering she hadn’t introduced herself as an FBI agent to them, that meant she needed to get out of town quick. She’d only stopped at the motel to grab the rest of her stuff and then she’d headed south on I-79, until she’d had to stop for gas. Now she was focused on three things: eating, a shower, and sleep. In that order.  
…  
Two days later

Mare had only left the hotel twice in the last few days. Once to get food from the local diner and the second time had been to pick up a bag of food from the local Ma and Pa grocery store. She had a diet that was somewhere between Sam’s insistence on eating salads as much as possible and Dean’s inability to eat anything even remotely healthy.

Now she was lounging in the bed, scrolling through weird occurrences on her laptop, with NCIS on in the background. It was an episode from the first couple of seasons that had Kate in it and she’d always preferred Ziva, so she wasn’t really paying attention. Still it was the best thing on right now and she didn’t feel like music or silence.

She backed out of the last news site she’d been looking at. Nothing there, just another woman claiming to be the next Virgin Mary. Just as she was about to type in a different search into the search bar a story on the discovery page caught her eye.

“James Buchanan Barnes: American Hero or Infamous Assassin.” She rolled her eyes, “What he can’t be both?” Mare muttered as she scrolled past it. It was old news anyway. Barnes had been pardoned by the U.N. months ago and public opinion was mostly in his favor. Videos of some of the shit he’d gone through had been leaked to the public, and had gone a long way in helping with that. Mare had declined to watch any of it. She’d seen plenty of torture in her life. She had no interest in seeing HYDRA’s particular brand of it. Not to mention it made her feel a little guilty about just leaving him knocked out in an alley. A great thing to do with a dude that had just escaped being brainwashed by a terrorist organization for 70 years.

She skimmed a different news article. Hmm, this could be promising. Woman found brutally murdered in a cabin in Middleboro, Kentucky with no signs of forced entry. The doors and windows had all been locked from the inside and no weapon had been found. It was a little less than seven hours away, though with her driving she could probably make it in six. That meant that she should probably leave at about 9am if she wanted to stop by the sheriff’s department and the morgue the same day.

A knock on the door startled Mare out of her research. She frowned at it. She wasn’t expecting anyone and when whoever it was didn’t immediately announce themselves as housekeeping, she became suspicious.

Mare put her laptop down beside her on the bed and grabbed her gun off the nightstand. It could just be someone knocking on the wrong door or it could be something supernatural looking for a piece of her. Her bare feet moved silently across the carpet and she looked through the peephole without leaning on the door. She didn’t want it to move and alert whoever or whatever at the door that she was there.

The person standing at the door, however, was the last one she expected. She flicked on the safety of the gun and slid it into the back of her pants, before opening the door to reveal one James Buchanan Barnes.

Mare opened the door wider and leaned against the frame, one hand was still behind her back resting on her gun. Just in case. He was standing a few steps back wearing long sleeves, a baseball cap, and gloves. He looked better than he had the last time she saw him, more put together and less hobo-ish. He still looked nervous and unsure though.

For a few moments they stared at each other then Mare said, “You here for round two Barnes?”

He blinked in surprise and shook his head, “What no I’m-” he scratched the back of his neck and looked away from her, “I just have some questions and was hoping you’d answer them?”

“Are you going to arrest me once the questions are over?”

“Uh no? I’m here alone and I just want to talk.”

Mare stared at him for a few moments longer, “Well, you did go through all the trouble of tracking me down, so I suppose it would be rude to refuse you.”

She shifted back, opened the door fully, and took her hand off of her gun. He hesitated, “Come on now, I’m not gonna bite.”

He walked in and Mare shut the door behind him. “Cristo,” she muttered under her breath.

“What?” Not a demon then, and she found the likelihood of him being a shapeshifter to be incredibly low.

“What?”

Barnes looked confused, “Did you say something?”

“Nope,” Mare slid past him, turned off the TV, put her gun on the nightstand, and sat down on the bed with her hands behind her head.

She looked at Barnes, who was a few steps away from the foot of the bed, looking distinctly awkward, and ready to bolt. “Hit me with it Barnes, whenever you’re ready. The name’s Mare by the way, but you probably knew that already.”

“Yeah. Mare’s a nickname right?”

“Yes. Call me by my full first name and feel my wrath. This is your only warning.”

Barnes flicked his head to the side a little, “I’ll keep that in mind and you can call me Bucky.” Mare nodded and gestured for him to continue. “Okay, so that thing in the alley.. was that a- that was a…”

“Werewolf,” Mare supplied, amused.

“Yes,” Bucky said, “a werewolf.” The words came out slightly incredulous.

“You are correct Bucky. The thing you encountered in the alley was a werewolf. I’d been tracking him across a few states.”

“Right, right okay,” Bucky was nodding and started pacing a little. “Alright, so werewolves are real and that means that there are other things that I thought were stories, but are actually really real, too right?”

Mare nodded, “Yes, and we would be here all night if I tried to list them all to you. So, I’m just gonna go ahead and explain what I was doing hunting down and killing a werewolf. I’m assuming that’s what your next question was.”

He nodded.

She dropped her arms from behind her head and resettled on the bed, “Okay, well as previously stated there are a lot of things out there that are not human, usually referred to as the paranormal or supernatural. Things like werewolves, vampires, witches, ghosts, ghouls, and a whole slew of others. You get the idea.” Bucky had stopped pacing and was now standing there, watching her with wide eyes.

“Well, these creatures, monsters, sometimes hunt and kill humans and when they do I hunt down and kill them. There are other people who do it too and we have creatively named ourselves Hunters. Basically we take care of the things that law enforcement has no chance of dealing with.”

Bucky nodded again, “And there’s no official department anywhere? It’s just a bunch of random people hunting down and killing monsters?”

“Pretty much.”

He was quiet for a moment then asked, “How do you get into hunting?”

“Usually it happens one of two ways. Either you were born into a family that hunts or something supernatural kills the people you love and you don’t stop until you get revenge. I’m part of the former group, but I wouldn’t call it a healthy lifestyle either way. It also includes doing things that aren’t exactly legal.”

“Yeah,” Bucky said dryly, “I figured as much when I saw your criminal record. You’re also dead according to the FBI, which is pretty impressive. Usually only the professionals fake their death.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m a very professional monster hunter.”

He lips twitched up a little, “Clearly.” Then his face got serious, “So, all of the charges were hunting related?”

“The murder yes. There was a whole debacle with a shapeshifter that tried to frame me for murder and then I killed it when it had my face on, so that’s why the FBI thinks I’m dead. Any breaking and entering I did was for a hunting reason, I’m sure. The grave desecration is because that’s how you get rid of a vengeful spirit, ghost. The assault was either hunting related or because of a bar fight. Am I missing something?”

“The credit card fraud,” he said dryly.

“Ah, well hunting doesn’t exactly rake in the dough, so I applied for credit cards using fake names. I rarely do that nowadays. Now I make any money I need by hustling in bars. Credit card fraud is much harder than it was 10 years ago.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Seems best.”

“So, you pretty much go around killing monsters?”

Mare shrugged, “In a nutshell, but only the ones who kill people. I know quite a few non-humans that lead normal lives, and don’t kill people.”

He frowned, “What’s stopping them from living normal lives? How they look? Or is it something else?”

“It changes depending on the monster. Werewolves for example need fresh hearts to survive and for vampires it’s fresh blood. Human blood and hearts are the best, but they can both survive on animals. I have found, however, that it’s easier for werewolves to survive on animal hearts than it is for vampires to survive on animal blood. Shapeshifters on the other hand don’t need to eat anything like that to stay alive, but some take advantage of the fact that they can shapeshift, but most live normally.”

He nodded slowly, “Right, that’s a lot to take in,” he muttered.

Mare gestured to one of the chairs at the table, “You can sit down if you’d like.”

He took the seat and massaged his temple with his right hand. “If it’s any consolation you’re reacting better than most people. Usually people are crying and rocking back and forth by now.”

Bucky snorted, “Somehow I think my life experiences have prepared me for such revelations.” He leaned back in the chair, “Shit, I remember when the weirdest thing around was Steve.”

Mare smiled a little and rested her chin on her fist, “Technically the things I hunt existed even then, you just weren’t aware of them.”

“Of course.” He was quiet then and Mare had the distinct feeling he was working up to asking something. She let him sit there and focused on the article she’d been looking at before he arrived.

The more she looked the more she was convinced that there was something weird going on there. Probably a vengeful spirit from the looks of it.

She felt Bucky’s gaze on her. He didn’t say anything. Without looking up she said, “Didn’t anyone ever teach you that it was rude to stare?”

“Can you teach me how to hunt?”

Mare jerked her head from her laptop, “You want me to teach you to do what?”

Bucky was looking at her determined, “I want to learn how to hunt.”

“Don’t you already have a job?” Mare was completely confused. Why the hell would he want to hunt when he was basically an Avenger?

He looked away at that, “Yeah, there are missions and things, but…” he trailed off and shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know. I don’t feel like I’m doing enough. They only let me go on small missions and if anything even smells like HYDRA I can’t go anywhere near it.”

Ah. “So, you feel as though you aren’t doing enough to atone for the shit you did under HYDRA’s control?”

“Something like that,” his voice got quieter and Mare could feel the guilt rolling off him in waves.

She considered his request. “Okay, so usually I would give you a whole speech about how dangerous hunting is and how you’ll probably get yourself killed, but considering you’re not my usual audience I’ll skip that part.

“Instead I’ll get straight to the things you need to know if you’re going to hunt with me for a while. First off we take my truck, it has all the shit I need in it, second I stay in motels like this for the most part, third I treat most injuries myself and don’t go to the hospital unless absolutely necessary, and finally most of the time to get more information from the locals or police I impersonate various federal agents. If you have a problem with any of these things or things I mentioned previously it probably won’t work out as they are non-negotiable.”

Bucky was quiet, “I don’t have a problem with any of that.”

“That’s good.” Mare considered her next words carefully, “Although you should be aware that hunting can be… brutal. What some of these things do to people…” she trailed off.

“Well there’s a reason they’re called monsters.” She couldn’t look at Bucky, “Also we can’t always save everyone and because you sometimes get to know the people who have been affected, it can make the whole thing harder to deal with.”

Bucky didn’t have anything to say to that and his face had gone blank. The silence was suffocating and Mare hated it.

She stood up suddenly. Her movement startled Bucky out of his pensiveness. “It’s a lot to think about, I know, so why don’t you take tonight to mull it over. I’ll be leaving at about 9am tomorrow. If you’re in, meet me at my truck then.” She walked over to the door and Bucky stood up too.

She opened it, “If not, have a nice life and please don’t turn me into the authorities.”

He still looked deep in thought as he left without a word.

Mare shut the door and locked it with a sigh. “Not the weirdest thing to happen to me, but definitely up there.”  
…  
The Next Morning

The motel door shut with a loud thunk. Mare turned to face the parking lot and smiled a little at what she saw. Bucky was standing next to the passenger side of her truck with a backpack on his shoulder.

She walked over to the driver’s side, “So I guess you’re in,” she said as she unlocked the doors.

He nodded, “You can throw your bag in the back,” he did and she did the same.

They both got in and Mare started the truck, “So, where are we headed?” Bucky asked.

“Kentucky.”


	3. Ghosts: They can and will kick your ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They hunt together for the first time.

About four hours into the almost seven hour drive she asked if Bucky was hungry. He grunted his assent and she got off at the next exit. Real eloquent this one was. He’d been mostly silent through the entire ride. Mare had tried to make conversation, but when he’d continued to answer monosyllabically, she’d given up. Clearly he wanted to stare out the window and brood, so she’d turned on some slow rock (it seemed the less likely to offend him) and ignored him. He hadn’t complained about her music choice and she’d even caught him bobbing his head to some of the songs. She considered that a win.

Lunch had been good and he’d paid. She’d raised an eyebrow at that, but didn’t say anything. If he wanted to pay, then she’d let him. Her money was better used for buying hunting supplies and gas. 

When they got back into the car he asked, “What was that look?”

“What look?” She asked as she backed out of the spot and left the parking lot.

“The look in the dinner.” He huffed when she looked confused. “The look you gave me when I paid?”

“Oh, well I was just surprised that you had money. You never mentioned it.” And he hadn’t, not that he had any obligation to tell her anything, but they would have to go halfsies on shit now. She didn’t really have the funds to pay for everything for the both of them.

Mare saw him frown slightly out of the corner of her eye, “You never asked.” 

“I know, but..” she was quiet for a moment and Bucky let her gather her thoughts. That was something that she really appreciated. He didn’t fill in the space with unnecessary chatter. Then again he didn’t really chatter in the first place either. “I suppose that I’ve been so used to paying for everything for so long that it threw me off, that there might be someone else to do it instead.

“Not that I’m complaining, since I wouldn’t be able to pay for everything anyway, it just… surprised me, that’s all.”

“The Avengers paid me a salary of sorts and the government gave me quite a bit of backpay when they decided that I wasn’t a terrorist anymore, so I can pay for stuff.”

Mare shifted her hands on the wheel, “Good to know.”

She was about to turn the music back on when she remembered that she was supposed to be teaching Bucky about hunting. Just because he knew how to fight didn’t mean he knew the things he was fighting. “Bucky open the glove compartment and get that journal out of it.”

He did and pulled out a brown leather journal. He didn’t automatically open it though, which she found a little odd, “What is it?”

“A list of every monster I’ve ever faced along with whatever I know about it and how to kill it. In no particular in order. I figured that if you’re going to be hunting you should probably know about the things you might encounter. Read through it and ask questions if you have them.”

“Okay,” Bucky opened it and flipped through some of the pages. Then he started at the beginning.

He read through the first five or six pages, before he said, “There’s a lot of shit in here about ghosts.”

“Yep, they’re surprisingly complicated.”

“Yeah,” Bucky said, “And I’d accuse you of lying, but something like ghost sickness is something that is so crazy that it has to be true.”

Mare laughed out loud. “A friend of mine got it, I wasn’t there for it, but I was told by his brother that the shining moment was him screaming bloody murder when a cat jumped out at them.”

Bucky snorted and opened up the journal again, “Can’t wait to see what else I find in here.”

“There are some real gems in there,” Mare said dryly. “Just don’t ask me about wendigos.” Her hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I don’t talk about those sober.”

She saw him look over at her from the corner of her eye. “Noted.”  
…  
They arrived in Middlesboro just after 3. Mare pulled into the first motel that had vacancy. Bucky continued to read in silence, though more than once she’d seen him furrow his eyebrows, and reread something. He had yet to ask a single question.

She wasn’t sure if it was because she’d explained everything so well in her journal or if his aversion to conversation was just that strong. She parked outside of the main entrance and turned to him. “You don’t mind sharing a room do you? If you do, I’m not paying for yours too.”

He frowned and a furrow appeared between his eyebrows again, but didn’t say anything. “I’m going to get two beds, if that’s the problem.”

“What, I- no that’s not…” He avoided her gaze. “I have nightmares sometimes,” he said quietly, ashamed.

Now it was Mare’s turn to frown. He shouldn’t be ashamed of them. “Yeah, so do I. What’s the problem?”

“They can be violent sometimes,” he warned. “And loud.” Was he trying to scare her away?

Mare sighed, “I hunt things that most people wouldn't dream up in their worst nightmares, Bucky. Trust me when I tell you that mine get that bad too.”

“Not like mine,” he mumbled.

Mare didn’t know what Bucky had nightmares about, probably about his time in HYDRA, but she’d been in Hell. She’d experienced the horrors it had to offer for over twenty years. 

Granted Bucky had gone through 70 years of brainwashing and torture, but still. 

“You’re not going to hurt me Bucky, and besides if you do have a nightmare I know better than to touch you.” She got out of the truck and turned back to look at him. “If there’s another reason you’re uncomfortable sharing a room, tell me now. I won’t be offended.”

He sighed, “That was the only reason.”

“Good,” she said and shut the truck door.

She went inside and walked up to the counter. A bored looking young man was sitting behind it. 

“Welcome to Pine’s Inn ma’am. How can I help you today?”

“I need a room. Two queens, preferably on the ground out front.”

He gave her an odd look, but went over to his computer and typed a few things in. “Okay, room 107 on the bottom floor. How many nights?”

“Two.”

He typed in a few more things. “Total is $120.23.”

Mare pulled out her wallet and handed him cash. She’d need to win more money soon, probably after this hunt. She wondered if Bucky was any good at pool. He could probably play poker pretty well.

The man’s eyebrows raised, but he took the money. He checked the twenties in the light. He handed her back the change and two key cards. “Check out time is 11:00am, we have a free continental breakfast served between 6am and 9am, complimentary WiFi, and color TV with over 200 channels.” The words were far too cheerful and clearly rehearsed. 

“Thanks,” she said and left. She got back into the truck with Bucky. He was still reading the journal, but looked up when she got in.

Mare handed him one of the key cards. “Room 107.” He took it from her, and she pulled around and backed into a spot a few down from their room.

She got out and grabbed her bag out of the back. Bucky followed, “So, what’s next?”

Mare walked in and surveyed the room before she answered. It was your typical cheap motel room setup. There were two beds against the right wall, a TV sitting on a dresser on the left side, a table with two chairs was just to the right of the door, and the bathroom door was at the far end of the room. 

“Well, I’m going to change and go down to the Sheriff's office, see what information I can get.” She set her duffle down on the bed closest to the door and pulled out her laptop. Bucky put his bag on the other bad and looked at her. She handed it to him, “You, however are going to research the history of the area and look for suspicious deaths going back the last 50 or so years.”

“You’re kidding right?” Mare picked her bag back up and headed to the bathroom. 

“Nope. Focus on the area around cabin 24 and see if people die there often. Murdered or otherwise.”

He went and sat down at the table. “That really narrows it down.” He muttered. Mare chose to ignore the comment. 

She went into the bathroom and set about making herself more presentable. She changed out of her rattier jeans and into cleaner ones that fit her better. She changed her shirt too and put on her non-hunting leather jacket. It was cleaner and less rough looking. She brushed her hair next and put it into a tight neat ponytail. Then she went about covering up the still healing bruise on her cheek. The whole ordeal probably took around 25 minutes, most of that time being geared towards make-up application.

After making herself more presentable Mare went about arming herself. She dug through her bag and found the holster that attached to the back of her pants. She checked the clip of her gun next and then holstered it. Her jacket concealed the bulge when she pulled it down. She had a small revolver filled with iron-wrought rounds that went into her ankle holster. An iron knife and a silver knife went into her other boot. Finally the demon knife, twin only to the one Sam and Dean had, was sheathed and put into her jacket. Along with about half a dozen other weapons. She’d decided on approaching the Sheriff as a federal marshal. Her fake badge and ID for that particular position were both in the car.

She walked out of the bathroom and set the duffle onto the bed she’d claimed. Bucky was sitting at the table with the laptop open, already researching. “Do you have a cellphone?”

He looked up slightly startled. “Yeah. Why?” He’d taken off his baseball cap and for the first time Mare could see his entire face. He had strong cheekbones and a jaw covered in scruff. His icy blue eyes were bright even in the dim light. Bucky was handsome and she was surprised that she’d just now noticed, despite having spent almost 7 hours in a car with him.

Bucky was staring at her. Shit, right they’d been having a conversation. “I figured we should probably exchange numbers.” She pulled out her phone and the contacts and handed it to Bucky.

He took it from her and typed in his number, then gave it back. She sent him a text, so he had her number too. She grabbed her keys and one of the keycards. 

When she turned back to Bucky he was focused on the laptop again. “I should be back in a few hours.” He made a noise of acknowledgment, but said nothing else. Mare left without another word.

She was reminded suddenly of a line she’d read in a novel once. “You talk like you need to send a message, but every word costs 5 dollars and you only have twenty in your pocket.”  
…  
Mare was tired by the time she got back to her truck, but her spirits were surprisingly high. The Sheriff had been polite and met her story with the proper amount of suspicion. He’d agreed to take her to the crime scene the next day and let her meet with the coroner too. She got the distinct feeling that he was grateful to have someone else coming in on this case, even a stranger. Of course she was also the someone that could take the blame when the case remained unsolved as he suspected it would. From the coroner she’d learned that the murder weapon had been an axe and that the women had barely fought back. Had she frozen because of fear or had something held her still? 

She started the truck and decided to call Bucky. After all she was hungry and he probably was too. He answered after two rings, “Hello.”

“Hey, Bucky I just got out of the Sheriff’s office and was wondering if you were hungry?”

“Sure,” he sounded distracted.

“How does pizza sound?”

“Fine.” Then he hung up.

Mare brought the phone away from her ear and stared at it. Talking with this man was like pulling teeth. She’d had half a mind to order pizza with the worst toppings she could think of, but in the end that would probably hurt her more than him. She didn’t want to have to choke down a pineapple, spinach, banana pepper pizza just to be petty. Then again she could also order him that and get something else for herself. That was a little passive aggressive though. She didn’t think he was rude on purpose. Manners probably weren’t that important during his time as a brainwashed assassin. 

She backed out of the spot and headed in the direction of the pizza shop she’d seen on her way there. “Hopefully he likes meat lover’s ‘cause that’s what I’m getting,” she muttered to herself.

When she got back to the motel she backed into the same spot she’d parked in before. There were more cars in the parking lot than there had been when they’d got there. She grabbed the pizza and a few beers out of the cooler that was in the back of her trunk.

When she got into the motel Bucky was talking on the phone. He glanced up when she walked in. “Uh huh,” he said into the phone. He was still sitting at the table and it was covered in notes from the motel’s complimentary notepad. Well at least he’d been busy.

She walked over to the table and Bucky moved some of his notes to the side so she could put down the beers and pizza. “Right, okay I will. I have to go.”

He listened for a moment then rolled his eyes. Actually rolled them like an angsty teenage girl. Mare turned away and focused on the pizza box so he wouldn’t see her trying not to laugh. “Bye, Steve.” He hung up the phone. Good to know she wasn’t the only one he did that to. 

He put the phone away. “I hope you like meat lover’s pizza ‘cause that’s what I got.” 

“I’m sure it’s fine.” She sat down, yanked off her boots, and dropped them by the bed. She also draped her jacket over the other chair and grabbed a beer and popped the cap off with her pocket knife. She took a few sips and went for a slice of pizza next. 

Bucky was staring at her seemingly lost in thought. “You gonna eat Bucky or just stare?”

He blinked, startled and sat back in his chair. Without a word he grabbed a piece of pizza. Mare offered him her pocket knife. He gave her a confused look. “For the beer,” she clarified.

“Oh, um..” He gestured with his left hand. He’d taken the glove off, but still had long sleeves on, so she could only see his hand. He popped the beer cap off with it. 

“Wow, okay that works too I guess.” Kinda hot too, but she didn’t think he’d appreciate that particular observation. She slid the knife back into her pocket. 

He made a small “hmm” sound, but otherwise made no comment. 

Mare started eating her second piece before she said, “So, I’m going to the crime scene tomorrow with the Sheriff. I also found out that the murder weapon was an axe. Found anything similar to that?”

Bucky finished chewing and took a sip of his beer, “Not really. There were no other murders reported in the cabin itself, which was built back in the early fifties. However, in the decades following at least 6 people were found dead in the area. The cause of death for all of them was animal mauling.”

“Huh,” Mare chewed and let the information settle. “Do any of the victims have anything in common?” 

“Nothing obvious that I could find other than where the bodies were found. They were all found in a 5 mile radius around the cabin.”

“So, that means that the spirit is probably attached to something in the cabin or immediate area. You’d think it’d be the axe, but I doubt the Sheriff would have missed something that obvious.”

Bucky frowned, “But the other people died from animal maulings?”

“Well, assuming that they were all killed by the spirit, which I think they were. Then it’s possible a violent axe murder could be passed off for an animal mauling. Probably a cover up by the coroner and Sheriff.”

His frown deepened, “You think they’re involved?”

Mare shook her head, “No, not in the killing themselves, but multiple unsolved murders doesn’t look good on a record. Animal maulings, however, are just unfortunate accidents.” 

She took a sip of her beer, “It happens all the time, especially in small towns.”

“So, why didn’t they try to pass this one off as an animal mauling?”

“Probably because they couldn’t. The murder was in a locked cabin after all.”

“And all of the other ones took place in the woods.”

“Yep.” Mare went for another slice and beer. They ate and drank in silence for a while. “Were there any deaths in the area before the cabin was built?”

Bucky set his pizza down and skimmed his notes. “No deaths, but a guy did go missing in the area in 1951. Edgar Trenton. He was a lumberjack who worked for the company that was clearing the area for the cabin to be built.”

“Hmm, and nothing suspicious before him?”

“Nope.”

“Then I think that Mr. Trenton deserves a closer look.”

Bucky nodded his agreement and got up from the table to go through his bag. He pulled out his own laptop. Mare raised an eyebrow. He shrugged and sat down on his bed. “I figured you’d want to use your own.”

She stared at him for a few moments, then shook her head slightly. No mention that he had a laptop at all. None whatsoever. Granted it hadn’t been essential, but he could have mentioned it earlier when she’d handed him hers. No, clearly Bucky needed to be mysterious as possible. She supposed his constant insistence on saying as little as possible was so odd to her because she was used to people that never shut up. Or at the very least could hold a conversation. Maybe it was just because he hadn’t warmed up to her yet. She was probably the first new person he’d interacted with in a while. 

Mare picked up her own laptop from the table and the last beer before she sat back down on her bed. “You want the last beer Bucky?”

He looked up at her eyes lingering on the other beer in her hand then focused back on his laptop, “No.”

“Okay.” She popped the cap off and started researching Edgar Trenton. Quickly she realized that there wasn’t much information. Not on him at least. There were some records about the company that he’d worked for and the one that built the cabin, but it wasn’t really useful. The lack of information wasn’t necessarily suspicious though. The man had disappeared back in the fifties. They’d have to go to the local library to look at public records if they wanted to find out anymore on him. 

“You haven’t asked about the phone call.”

Oh, now he chooses to talk. And why about this? Who he talked to on the phone wasn’t any of her business. Did people really pry into his so much that he was surprised when she didn’t? “You seem to be a pretty private person Bucky. I didn’t think you would have answered had I asked, so why bother? Besides, who you talk to isn’t really any of my business.”

“But are you curious?” His voice was oddly accusatory and she didn’t appreciate it.

Now Mare had to look at him. He was staring at her with an unreadable look. “Are you fishing for something Bucky?” He didn’t respond. 

She rolled her eyes, “Yes, I suppose I am curious, however, you said the name Steve. That means you were more than likely talking to Steve Rogers. He is supposedly your best friend, so it makes sense that you would be talking to him. What else is there to know?” Her voice had gotten more annoyed the longer she’d talked. Bucky narrowed his eyes in response to her tone. 

That just annoyed her more. “Don’t give me that look Bucky. Just because I don’t react the way you expect doesn’t mean you get to be pissy about it.” 

He continued his silence and started glaring. Probably in a way that got most people to back up. Mare just rolled her eyes again and closed her laptop with a snap. “I’m gonna take a shower while you pull your head out of your ass.”

Mare grabbed her bag and walked over to the bathroom. She shut the door with a little more force than was strictly necessary.

…

Well, then. That was not how people usually reacted when he acted like that. Most of the time people found every reason to leave the room. Mare had just looked annoyed. And had then proceeded to put him in his place. Something he was reasonably sure hadn’t happened since the forties. Bucky sighed and smacked the back of his head against the headboard.

Just because he had a penchant for shoving people away before they got close didn’t mean she deserved his shit. Mare had been reasonable and accommodating this entire time.  
God, he really was an ass. He should apologize when she got out of the shower. If they were going to be spending basically all of their time with each other he could at least try to accept the olive branch she’d offered, instead of throwing it back in her face. 

Mare got out of the shower about ten minutes later. She tossed her bag at the end of her bed and sat down on the edge of it. She started drying her hair with one of the hotel’s white towels. Bucky cleared his throat and Mare stopped and looked over at him from beneath the towel. “What?”

Her tone was neutral, but he could see some simmering annoyance behind her eyes. She clearly had a temper, though she was trying to hide it. He swallowed, “I’m sorry.”

Surprise flickered in her eyes. She straightened up and stared at him for a moment. He forced himself to meet that stare, “Apology accepted Bucky, but be aware that if you do it again I won’t hesitate to put you in your place. I don’t put up with shit from people, no matter who they are.” She got back up and sat at the head of the bed and dropped the towel on the floor. The remote was on the bedside table and she grabbed it.

Bucky felt his lips twitch up into an almost smile, “Seems fair.” He glanced back at the laptop. He hadn’t found anything else on Edgar Trenton. And since Mare had turned on the TV and was now flicking through channels, he assumed she hadn’t either.

“You don’t have to keep looking if you don’t want to. It’s unlikely that you’re gonna find anything else that’s useful. Not online at least.”

He turned to her, “If not online then where else?”

Mare paused in her channel flicking and turned to him, “Library. We can go through public records tomorrow. Find out more info on how he disappeared, where he lived, where he was buried, if he was buried, etc.”

He frowned, “And no one will care when we start asking about that?” He didn’t want to draw suspicion. Or be recognized.

She shrugged, “Maybe a little, but if you ask one of the older librarians they’re usually too excited about someone looking through old records to really be suspicious. We’ll just say that we’re doing a project on the town’s history and want to know more about the logging company Edgar worked for.” She hummed for a moment, “Ooh and how it relates to the town’s early economics. That would do it.”

Bucky raised his eyebrows and stared at her, “That is oddly specific.”

“It’s what came to mind first.” She looked at him, “You got anything better?”

He shook his head, “Not that I could come up with in that time.”

She grinned at him, “Well, flying by the seat of your pants is kinda in the job description. The trick is just sticking with whatever bullshit story you come up with.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Bucky closed his laptop and Mare set down the remote and focused on the TV. He didn’t recognize the show. Then again he wasn’t sure there was a show he would recognize. 

Maybe Friends or The Office, which were two shows that Sam watched and he sometimes joined him. He hadn’t caught up on much pop culture, not like Steve had anyway.  
Something told him that if he spent much time with Mare, he’d get caught up on it whether he liked it or not.

They watched the whole episode. He learned that it was called Criminal Minds and it was about the FBI’s BAU or Behavioral Analysis Unit. The characters were interesting and he immediately liked Hotchner the best. They watched a couple more episodes before Mare turned her eyes to the clock. It was after 11.

Mare stretched and turned off the TV. She looked at him, “I’m gonna go to bed Bucky.” She turned off the lamp on her side and got under the covers. She looked at her phone for a couple of seconds and then put it on the bedside table. Right next to her gun. She was very casual with it and her other weapons. She handled them like she’d been handling them for years. Which he supposed that if she’d been raised to be a hunter, she had been.

Bucky slid out of the bed and got himself ready for bed. When he got back Mare had turned over and her breathing was more even. He didn’t think she was asleep yet, but she was on her way. He got under the covers, laid on his back, and stared at the ceiling. Why exactly he decided to do this he wasn’t sure, but he got the distinct feeling that he was on the edge of something; he just didn’t know what it was.

…

The vibration of her phone against the bedside table woke Mare up. The beeping of her alarm soon followed. She groaned and rolled over. She grabbed the phone and tried to dismiss the alarm. She had set it for 8am. “Shush,” she muttered to it, before she managed to turn it off. Mare sighed in relief and let her head drop back into the pillow. 

A deep chuckle made her jerk her head back up. Bucky was sitting on the other bed completely dressed, minus his boots. Mare pushed herself and sat up in the bed, “Something funny?” She glared at him.

His laptop was in his lap and he looked over at her, then back at it. He was smiling, “Oh, nothing.”

Mare rubbed her eyes and covered her face with her hands, “That’s what I thought,” she muttered. 

He chuckled again and Mare removed her hands from her eyes to look at him. “Why are you dressed?”

“I’ve been up for a while.”

“Of course you have.” Bucky continued to look smug and Mare wasn’t having it. She was well aware that she was not a morning person, but just because he was didn’t mean he needed to rub it in her face.

Mare got up and walked over to the bathroom, “Well, since you’re ready to function like a normal human being, you can go get us breakfast. The motel offers a free one. I’m sure it’s in the lobby. Oh, and get me an orange juice.” She shut the bathroom door, before he could respond.

There was a few seconds of silence before she heard him get off the bed and then some shuffling. The motel door opened and shut a minute or two later. She sighed and turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a complete mess and there were sleep lines on her face. Well she couldn’t really blame him for laughing. Normally there wasn’t anyone there to witness how she was in the morning. “At least the bar can’t get any lower,” Mare muttered to herself.

Mare was just coming out of the bathroom when Bucky got back with the food. He set it down on the table and Mare sat in one of the chairs. “What did you get?”

“Orange juice,” he deadpanned and handed the cup to her. She could smell the coffee in his.

“Thanks,” she said dryly and took the styrofoam to go box he offered her. Inside was sausage, scrambled eggs, and a waffle. He’d also grabbed napkins and plastic utensils. She took a sip of the orange juice. It tasted slightly watered down, but was otherwise okay. It didn’t have a bad artificial taste. She started eating.

Bucky sat across from her and started to eat his own food. It was okay, but it wasn’t great. It was, however, free and that made it perfect. 

Mare had always thought that she ate quickly. Not as quickly as Dean, but not much slower. Bucky put both of them to shame. She supposed it made sense given what he’d been through. Eat while the food is in front of you ‘cause it might get taken away. Super soldier appetite probably helped too. When he was done he got back up, with his coffee, and went back to his laptop, which was still on the bed.

Mare finished eating and downed the rest of her orange juice. She got up and grabbed her bag from the end of her bed. She went back into the bathroom and dressed. When she came back out, Bucky was still sitting on the bed. 

“I’m gonna go meet with the Sheriff now. When I get back we’ll go to the library.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Also,” she went through her bag and handed him her monster journal. She’d grabbed it out of the truck last night, but had forgotten to give it to him. “Keep reading that.” 

“Okay.” She rolled her eyes and left. Still not a talker then. She wasn’t surprised.

She followed the directions to the cabin that the Sheriff had given her yesterday. It was farther out of town than she had expected and it took longer to get there. The Sheriff was already there when she arrived.

Mare grabbed her badge and clipped it on her jeans. She also grabbed her EMF reader and put it in her jacket. She got out of her truck and walked over to where the Sheriff was standing. “Sorry, I’m late Sheriff. The drive took longer than I expected.”

“It’s fine Sanchez,” he started walking up to the cabin. The whole area was crossed off with police tape and they ducked under it. The cabin door also had police tape across it, but the Sheriff just removed it. “I’m just surprised you didn’t get lost.”

She chuckled, “This is not the first time I’ve been assigned to something out in the middle of nowhere. At least you gave good directions. Most people can’t.”

The Sheriff chuckled, “Well, it helps that I’ve lived here my whole life.”

“Ah, I bet it does,” she made a move to go inside but the Sheriff put up a hand to stop her.

She raised a brow, “I just want to prepare you. It’s not pretty.”

Mare nodded, “Thank you for the warning, but I’m sure I’ve seen worse.” She went ahead. It was bad, but it wasn’t the worst she had seen. After all, just blood painting the walls without the guts, just didn’t inspire the same amount of horror in her. It was actually pretty tame compared to some of the stuff she’d seen. Without the body at least.

The Sheriff, however, must have disagreed because he said, “I’m just gonna stay out here Marshall if that’s fine with you.” He looked awkward and embarrassed.

“It’s fine Sheriff,” she took a few more steps inside. She looked around and waited until the Sheriff had moved away from the doorway before she pulled out her EMF reader.

The crackle of the radio startled Mare slightly and she shoved the EMF reader back into her jacket just in time for the Sheriff to appear in the doorway again. “Hey, I just got a call that I need to deal with. Can I leave you here?”

Mare nodded, “That’s fine Sheriff. I’ll make sure to notify you if I find anything.”

He nodded and jogged away. She waited for the car to start and him to drive away before she pulled out the EMF reader again. “That was weirdly lucky,” she muttered to herself. 

Some stuff was knocked over, but a search didn’t turn up anything that screamed ‘I’m attached to an angry spirit’. The EMF reader went off close to the west side of the cabin, but nowhere else. It was high enough that it confirmed the presence of a spirit. There was nothing else in the area that couldn’t have given off a signal.

There was also something weird about the blood splatter pattern, but she couldn’t figure out what it was. Mare walked around in a circle in the cabin and tried to figure it out. The spot where the woman’s body had been found had been marked off with tape. Then she realized the problem. She was standing right in front of the body and there was blood right where she was standing. If there had been an actual person there, then there would be a gap in the blood spray. No gap meant that there was nothing of the blood to fall on.  
She’d seen it before on other spirit hunts.

Good, now all she and Bucky had to do was confirm it was Trenton and salt and burn his bones. Or whatever else might be keeping him tied to Earth. Easy peasy. She left the cabin and went back to her truck.

…

Mare pulled into the parking lot and texted Bucky. He came out of the motel a minute later and got into the truck. She shifted the truck out of park and started towards the library. 

“I’m positive that it’s a spirit.” She told him, “We just have to make sure it’s really Trenton and if it is where he’s buried.”

“Because we have to salt and burn his bones,” Bucky said.

“Yep.”

“Can’t wait,” he muttered.

“It’s a ton of fun,” she said sarcastically.

“I’m sure.”

They were silent for the rest of the ride. Mare pulled into the parking lot and tossed her badge into the glove compartment. They got out and Bucky pulled his baseball cap down so it covered his eyes. He looked decidedly unfriendly. Mare sighed and said, “Okay, Bucky you have to look less murderous if this is going to work.”

He glowered at her. She rolled her eyes and gestured to his face, “May I?” She asked.

Bucky stared at her for a moment probably trying to get her to back down, but Mare just crossed her arms and stared back. He sighed and nodded. Mare reached up and adjusted the cap on his head and brushed his hair behind his ears. He tensed at that and Mare found that his hair was surprisingly soft. She stepped back and looked him over. He shifted uncomfortably. He looked better, but the gloves on his hands didn’t help. 

He couldn’t really take them off though. The red henley and leather jacket weren’t helping either. He still looked nervous though and with that and his shoulders caved in slightly he didn’t look threatening.

She made minor adjustments to his jacket and shirt then sighed, “Just try not to glare and let me do the talking.” She turned on her heel and walked inside. Bucky followed her silently. 

...

A few hours of research later and they’d found out that the company Edgar worked for had a history of not following safety regulations. Which considering what passed for safety in the fifties was disturbing. Reading in between the lines of all of the documents, Mare and Bucky had both concluded that he had more than likely died in an accident and that his death had been covered up. Since Edgar had had no relatives and was not a local it would have been very easy for them to do so. That also meant that Edgar had a definite motive for being a vengeful spirit. 

In fact Mare was also pretty sure that since Edgar was haunting the area around the cabin and the cabin, he was probably buried somewhere near there. Or at least his axe was. He’d had a favorite axe apparently, with his initials in it. Which also meant that they needed to rent a metal detector. It wasn’t as if they could dig up the whole area.

When she’d told Bucky that he’d muttered, “Right of course because that would be the most ridiculous solution.”

She ignored him and looked up where she could rent a metal detector. Thankfully there was a place in town that did much to Bucky’s shock and confusion. The sun had gone down and Mare parked a few miles down from the cabin.

Mare got out of the truck and Bucky followed, “Why did you park so far away?” 

She went to the back door and opened it then lifted up the seat. “Powerful spirits can possess vehicles and the last thing we need is my truck coming after us.”

Mare started going through her weapons. “Right I read something about that… Holy shit.” He had opened the other backdoor and was looking into her weapons collection. She’d hollowed out the entire backseat and it was full of weapons of every type.

“It’s impressive I know.” She threw an empty duffle bag at him. He caught it, “Go into the bed of my truck and grab the canister of salt and gasoline and two shovels. He shut the door and she felt the truck dip as he got into the back. 

Mare grabbed two sawed off shotguns and leaned them against the truck. Bucky appeared next to her. “Anything else?”

“Take one of those shotguns it’s already loaded with rock salt rounds and here are some extra. Put them in your pocket.” He took them from her, “Also,” she offered him a crowbar, “This is pure iron, put it in one of your belt loops.”

“Okay.” 

“Oh, and take these.” She turned around and handed him two knives. One was made of silver and the other iron. “Keep these with you at all times. Everything else I will take back at the end of the hunt. Those you can keep.”

“Thanks, I guess.” He put them away and Mare grabbed a crowbar and extra rounds for herself. Then she grabbed a flashlight and the metal detector. She closed the back seat and shut the door. Bucky had the duffle bag over his shoulder and was holding the shovels and one shotgun.

Mare picked up her stuff and turned to him. “Is that everything?” 

“Don’t be patronizing Bucky,” she said as she flicked on the flashlight and led the way. “You’ll be thankful for all of this in a little while.

“I’m sure.” They were silent for the walk to the cabin. It seemed much more foreboding in the dark and she felt more than saw Bucky tense up. 

“Okay, let’s get this show on the road.” Mare turned on the metal detector and started searching the area. Bucky stood off to the side and continually scanned the area. It was over an hour before she detected anything serious and Bucky got more tense the longer it took.

The metal detector made a loud beeping noise over a spot on the ground. “Hmm.” Mare dragged it back and forth and found that it only went off in that one small area. She was about 10 feet from the west side of the cabin. She turned to Bucky, “Let’s start here.”

He walked over and set down the bag. He handed her a shovel. He stuck it into the ground and began digging. Mare stood off to the side; shotgun ready. She had stuck her own shovel in the dirt next to her.

He shot her a look and paused in his digging when she didn’t start. “Aren’t you digging too?” 

“Someone’s got to keep alert in case the spirit shows up.”

“So what? Am I just the muscle?”

She turned to him, “Look Bucky I’ve been digging graves since I was thirteen. I’m just giving you a chance to catch up.”

“You’re so generous,” he said sarcastically and practically stabbed the ground with the shovel. 

“I aim to please,” Mare told him and walked around. He hadn’t dug for much longer when the temperature dropped suddenly. Mare was instantly alert and Bucky jerked up.

The spirit of Edgar Trenton materialized in front of him. He swore in surprise. Mare fired at the spirit and it dissipated, but then quickly rematerialized behind her. She felt the slight change in air pressure and turned to meet it. Another shot and it dissipated again. Mare reloaded and readied herself. The tang of salt was in the air and the silence was deafening. 

It didn’t reappear, so she assumed she’d powered it down. For now at least. “Start digging Bucky,” she snapped at him. She ran to the bag and pulled out the salt. She made a rough circle around him. When the spirit came back it wouldn’t hold him for long, but at least now she could dig with Bucky.

For a while it was just their heavy breathing and the sound of digging. The freezing cold appeared again and Bucky froze. The spirit appeared in front of them, axe held high. He tried to move forward and Bucky flinched back, but the salt ring stopped him. He slowly looked down at it then back up at them. Rage flashed across his face.

Mare smacked Bucky on the arm. He jerked his head to her, “Dig,” she ordered him and continued.

He followed and they hit an old pinewood box at the same time. The spirit kept disappearing and reappearing around the circle, getting angrier each time. Bucky started breaking up the box and Mare tossed him the bag and grabbed the shotgun, just in time for the spirit to break through. She fired and he disappeared and then appeared behind her closer than before. She spun around in time for the spirit to knock the shotgun out of her hands.

She yanked the crowbar out of her belt loop and slashed it through the spirit. It disappeared and reappeared next to Bucky. Who had yet to react and was just standing there. Mare swore and the spirit launched him across the clearing. He hit the ground with a loud thump. Mare threw the crowbar at it and the spirit dissipated.

She grabbed the gasoline and salt and covered the bones and axe. So, nice of the other workers to have buried it with him. She lit a match and dropped it in the grave. Just in time too. The spirit went up in an unholy inferno right in front of Bucky and blinked out of existence. 

Mare let out a loud breath, “Glad that’s over.” She started picking up the weapons. 

He had yet to move. She stopped, “You okay there Bucky?”

He picked himself off the ground and brushed himself off, “I’m fine.” He said sharply. He kicked some dirt on the fire and started grabbing the shovels. Seems as though some of his masculine pride had been damaged. Her suspicions were confirmed when he picked up everything he could carry. She let him and just held the flashlight and one of the shotguns. 

The walk back to the truck was silent. So, was the drive back to the motel. Mare let him be pissy and did her dead level best to keep the smile off of her face. His pride had already been damaged enough today.

When they got back inside the room Mare asked, “Do you want the shower first or…” she trailed off when he grabbed his bag and slammed the bathroom door shut. 

Maybe it was because she was tired, but Mare found the outburst more amusing than anything else. It was the most emotion he’d showed as of yet. She found it funny that despite the fact he attempted to be Mr. Cool and Mysterious, he could still get frazzled. 

However, had they been hunting anything more dangerous than a spirit or that spirit had been more powerful, they could be dead right now. She was coming to the realization that maybe she hadn’t prepared him as much as she should have. He got out of the shower a few minutes later and sat at the table. He opened up the journal and started reading.

Mare just grabbed her own bag and headed into the shower. She’d let him brood tonight and tomorrow they’d talk. They needed to come to some kind of agreement because what happened tonight could not happen again.


	4. Training, Tattoos, and Theological Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They don't hunt in this one, but we do get to see their relationship develop more. Enjoy!

Breakfast and checkout had been normal and now Mare was driving vaguely southwest on I-75. Bucky had been silent almost the entire time, but Mare wasn’t all that surprised. She was still trying to figure out how to bring up the fact that his silence and her assumption that he knew what he was doing wasn’t working. 

Which was why she nearly swerved in surprise when he suddenly said, “Demons?”

He’d been reading the journal the entire time she’d been driving. Mare swore silently in her head. She’d forgotten that at some point she’d have to have the conversation with him about Hell and Heaven and demon and angels. She had no idea how religious the man was, but no matter what people believed, they didn’t usually react well to the confirmed existence of an afterlife. 

Mare tightened her grip on the wheel and kept her eyes trained on the road. “Yes, demons are very real. Nasty things. Most hunters don’t even touch ‘em.”

“Let me guess. You do?” His voice had gone flat and it wasn’t very hard to understand why. Demons possessed people and took them over. That was pretty much Bucky’s worst nightmare.

“When I come across one yes, but even I don’t go after them alone. Not anymore anyway.” She’d made that mistake once and it was a fucking miracle that she was still here to talk about it. Well if Winchester stubbornness could be considered a miracle that is. 

“And they… they really possess people?” From the tone of his voice she could tell that he already knew the answer to that.

She shifted her grip on the wheel, but still didn’t look at him. She could feel his gaze on her though. “They can.” She paused and considered how exactly she should explain this. 

“Demons don’t have physical forms on Earth like they do in Hell, so they have to possess someone. On Earth they appear as black smoke. They can possess pretty much anyone, but the weakest, the ones that are just on Earth to create a bit of chaos and death, go after people who are emotionally compromised. Like for example an alcoholic who they force to crash a car and kill someone, but then the one they possessed survives and has to live with the guilt. They’re all about corruption.

“Then you have the demons that come on Earth to either hunt down other demons that escaped from Hell when they shouldn’t have or they go after hunters. Occasionally I’ll have a demon or two come after me, but most aren’t stupid enough to try. Not anymore. There are also some that are ordered to possess people, but stay dormant so that no one, not even the person knows that they’ve been possessed. People don’t usually remember what they did while the demon was in charge.

“Then you have your crossroads demons who make deals for your soul in exchange for things like money or fame. The catch though is that in ten years they collect and your soul is dragged down by hellhounds. There’s not much you can do for those people. Give them some gopher dust to keep the hellhounds at bay, but eventually they mess up and get got.

“The next class of demons stay in Hell and torture the souls that are there.” Mare took a deep breath and shoved away the memories that threatened to swallow her. 

“They only come to the surface for apocalypse level shit. People who are being possessed by demons are burned by salt, iron, or holy water. They flinch at God’s name in latin: Cristo. Their eyes also go completely black when exposed to anything of those things. Also you can trap them using a devil’s trap. They can enter one but not exit it. You can also use a latin exorcism on them and send them back to Hell.

“Or as a last resort you can kill the demon with a demon knife or angel blade. There are two demon knives in existence and about a dozen or so angel blades left on Earth. I have one of each. The problem with it, is that you have to kill the vessel, the person, the demon is possessing to kill it. People usually survive an exorcism, usually. But demons are pretty rough with their vessels and while the person heals with the demon in them, after they leave whatever injuries the demon put them through appear again.”

Bucky said nothing and the silence weighed on her, “So, yeah Hell and demons are real and so are Heaven and angels.”

When he continued his silence, Mare spared him a glance. He was just staring out the windshield with a blank look on his face. It was unnerving and she looked back at the road and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. 

“Jesus Christ,” Bucky finally muttered and rubbed at his face.

“Actually anti-Christ,” Mare said in an attempt to lighten the situation. 

Bucky shot her an unamused look. Mare winced a little, “Too soon. Got it.”

He took a deep breath, “Okay, so you told me how to tell if someone is possessed, but is there a way to prevent it entirely?”

“Two ways that I know of. Either you wear an anti-possession charm all the time, or you can get an anti-possession tattoo. I have one on my shoulder blade. Personally it’s the one I suggest, but I have plenty of charms if you have something against tattoos.”

“If I wear just the charm, all the demon has to do to possess me is take off right?” 

“Yep, that’s why I recommend getting the tattoo. There’s a picture of it in there.”

Bucky looked into the journal. He was silent then, “You know you’re pretty nonchalant about the existence of Heaven and Hell, like it’s not something people have been questioning for centuries.”

Mare shrugged, “It’s old news to me, but I can see where you’re coming from.” 

He sighed deeply and leaned back against the seat. “What have I gotten myself into?” 

She knew the question was rhetorical, but she answered anyway, “An adventure of epic proportions.”

Bucky turned towards Mare and with an incredulous expression. 

She turned to him briefly, “What?”

He just shook his head, “I don’t- I don’t know.”

“That’s fair,” Mare said. “I get that a lot.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Bucky said sarcastically.

“Hey, man if you wanted boring and ordinary you really shouldn't have gone after the woman in the alley that shot a werewolf right in front of you and then stuck around with her. It’s your own fault.”

“Yeah, well pretty much every event in my life has made it clear that I’m not meant for ordinary.”

Mare shrugged again, “You know the definition of ordinary changes depending on the person. For me ghosts are pretty ordinary. I’m told that it’s not the same for most.”

Bucky snorted, “Well, ghosts were for me, but I suppose that’s about to change.”

“If you don’t bail like any sane person would, they and many other things will too.”

“I’m still here.”

Mare grinned, “Yes, yes you are.” She leaned back and rested one hand on the wheel and ran the other through her hair. “I’ll try to keep you alive while you get the hang of it.”

Bucky gave her an unimpressed look. Mare smirked at him, then turned back to the road. “If it’s any consolation I passed out the first time I saw a ghost and I’d known about them for years.”

He raised his eyebrows, “Really?”

She sighed, “Yeah, it was the first hunt my parents ever took me on. I was twelve. My dad was digging the grave and my mom was standing guard. And I was in a salt circle with my own sawed off and iron crowbar. Ghost popped out of nowhere and I flat passed out. It didn’t even come after me.” It definitely hadn’t been her best moment.

It’d been the first time that she had ever come face to face with something supernatural. She’d read all about them and heard her parents stories and thought herself prepared. Instead she’d folded at crunch time. It had been incredibly embarrassing. The disappointment from her parents had been the worst part though. They hadn’t needed to say anything, she’d just known.

“What did your parents do?” 

“They just sighed and didn’t take me on another hunt for a year. When they finally did it was another ghost hunt. I dug the grave with my dad, while my mom was protecting the people in the house the ghost was killing in. From then on it was pretty smooth sailing. Well, as smooth as hunting can be.”

Bucky made a face, clearly unsure how to react. She couldn’t blame him. Only recently had she started to come to terms with the fact that her childhood had been rather... fucked up. It wasn’t something she liked to think about. What she did know was that if she did ever have a kid, she would not raise it to be a hunter. That was for damn sure.

“Well, good to know that I reacted better than a twelve year old did.”

“Exactly. You should be very proud.”

He rolled his eyes. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a very tactful person?”

“No, actually, but I appreciate that you think I am.”

Bucky sighed deeply and turned back to the journal. Mare smiled a little. She enjoyed people that responded to her sarcasm with more sarcasm. They fell into silence after that and Mare turned up the radio. 

...

They ate lunch at a diner with a sign that said world’s best milkshakes. Bucky seemed ligitmentally offended that it did. 

“The best milkshakes I have ever had were made by a guy named Jeb who owned a diner back in the forties.” He told her as he looked at his menu and frowned.

“I’ll take your word for it Bucky, but you have to admit that there are more flavors now than there were then.” Mare was eyeing the cake batter flavored one.

“One word: strawberry. Why go any farther when you’ve already reached perfection?” 

Mare ordered the cake batter one just to make a point, and because it tasted really good. Bucky looked disgusted and was downright appalled when she offered him some of it. “Strawberry,” he insisted and drank his own.

“At least I didn’t choose something boring.” She said scathingly when they got back to the truck and he was still looking like that. She started it and pulled out of the parking lot.

“I will not take criticism from someone who ate her milkshake without the cherry.” He huffed.

“Maraschino cherries are disgusting Bucky. They’re too sweet!” Bucky was judgier than she’d expected. It was kinda cute though. Especially when he would crinkle his nose at an offending opinion.

“Says the woman who just drank a milkshake called ‘cake batter’ with extra whipped cream!”

“It’s a different kind of sweet!”

“You can’t eat a milkshake without the cherry. It’s- it’s…” He struggled to find the words, “It’s sacrilege!”

“Sacrilege Bucky? Really?”

“Yes,” he said. “It absolutely is.” He turned on the radio, loud, effectively ending the conversation. Need the last word much? 

Mare shot him a glare, but Bucky turned back to the journal and ignored her. It wasn’t for a quite a few miles that she realized that that was the longest Bucky had kept up a conversation with her that didn’t have anything to do with hunting. Progress.  
…

Bucky was just finishing reading the section on vampires when Mare made a small, “hmm,” noise. He glanced up at her, but her fingers were drumming on the steering wheel and her eyes were focused on the road.

He looked around for the thing that made her say that. Maybe most people would have written it off, but Bucky had learned very quickly that Mare didn’t do much without a reason. Not to mention she had a look on her face that he recognized from when they’d been researching Edgar Trenton. He was pretty sure that it was her ‘coming up with a plan’ look.

Furthering his suspicions was the fact that she shifted from the fast lane all the way to the far right lane. She’d stayed in the left lane almost the entire time they'd been on the interstate, so a sudden change for no reason made him apprehensive. 

“What?” She’d turned down the radio some when the ads had come on, and had kept it on that volume. He would admit that turning up the music during their spat hadn’t been the most mature course of action, but she was so damn infuriating. Sam was the only person he’d ever met that could get under his skin that quickly, but this was somehow different. At least her taste in music was better than Sam’s. 

She looked over at him, “What, what?”

“You said ‘hmm.”

“And that’s cause for alarm how?”

“Well, usually it wouldn’t be, but you also changed lanes for no reason that I can see.” He leaned over slightly, “You still have plenty of gas.” The tank was ¾ of the way full.

“And here I was thinking that I was being slick.”

“Maybe for normal people you were, but I think we’ve established that I’m not normal.” She flicked on her blinker and slowed down as she got off on the next exit.

“Very true. I noticed that there was a sign for a state park and I figured that I should actually get on with the whole teaching you how to hunt thing. I thought that I should show you some of the tricks I’ve learned after years of hunting. I’ve found that it’s best not to do those kinds of things in public.”

Bucky knew that she had a point. After the events of last night it had become pretty obvious he didn’t have the handle on things, he thought he had. Unfortunately the larger part of him (his ego) was offended and felt prickly.

Mare very quickly picked up on that because she said, “Look, Bucky I don’t think that you’re incompent or anything, but fighting humans and fighting supernatural creatures are very different. When we fight something that actually has a body you’ll probably have a better time, especially since your strengths will be more matched.” 

She paused, “Not that I’m jealous of that or anything,” she added contemptuously.

His lips twitched into an almost smile at that. “Besides,” she said, leaning back in the seat, “I suppose that there are things I could learn from you too.”

He turned to her in surprise. She turned to him with a look, “I’m not that arrogant Bucky. You can learn something from anyone and I figure that maybe a bit of sparring is the best way to do that from each other.”

Bucky frowned a little. It wasn’t that he wasn’t willing to learn from her, but he really didn’t want to hurt her. But as it turned out he clearly wasn’t as good at hiding his thoughts as he thought he was either, because she said, “If you say that you don’t want to spar with me because you think you’re gonna hurt me I will smack you. I am not fragile.” Her grip on the wheel tightened at that and she said it with enough bite that he was pretty sure it wasn’t directed at him.

“I didn’t mean to imply that with my silence,” he said blithely.

She straightened a little as if realizing that she’d been thinking about something else. Her grip on the wheel loosened, “Yeah, sorry. That last part wasn’t directed at you.”

“Oh, really? I hadn’t noticed.”

Mare shot him a look and turned into the Norris Dam State Park Entrance. “I’m just gonna take your non-answer as a yes.”

Bucky sighed deeply, “Why not?” 

…

Things hadn’t gone all that badly Bucky reflected as he laid in his motel bed and watched whatever show Mare had put on. Mare was lying on her own bed, drinking a beer, and watching the TV.

He’d learned a lot from the sparring session actually. She’d taught him how to predict where a ghost would appear, about the ways that werewolves usually fought, and the best way to decapitate a vampire. It was a different way of fighting, but the goal was still very familiar to Bucky. He picked up most of the movements quickly. It was easy to see how they translated into real life. Mare wasn’t a bad teacher.

Then they’d gotten to actually sparring with each other. Mare’s fighting style had none of the finesse most people he fought did, but it was still very effective. Bucky had held back for the first twenty or so seconds before realizing that that was the quickest way to get his ass kicked. Clearly she was very used to fighting people and things both bigger and stronger than her. He didn’t have nearly the advantage he thought he did.

She was also very good at adapting to different fighting styles and it didn’t take her long to start using his own moves against him. With her own twist added in of course. He wondered if she even noticed what she was doing. She did it so effortlessly. He’d been forced to come to the conclusion that her kicking the shit out of him in that alley, hadn’t been as much of a fluke as he’d thought it’d been. 

Eventually they’d called it a draw when it had gotten dark and Mare had found a motel in town. She’d ordered some kind of takeout that wasn’t bad. He was really tired though. The kind of tired that came from sore muscles and a new kind of workout. 

He didn’t mean to, but he fell into a deep sleep before the episode even ended. 

…

When Bucky woke up Mare’s bed was empty. He rubbed his eyes and glanced over at the clock. It was after ten. He yawned and sat up. That was easily the most sleep he’d gotten in a row in a very long time.

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom. As he was coming out Mare walked in. She was holding a bag of food and two drinks. It smelled really good. 

She set it down on the table. “Morning sleeping beauty.” She handed him a coffee. “I went out on a limb and got you black.”

Well, she wasn’t wrong. They sat down at the table. “Thanks,” he said and dug in. 

“No, problem,” she said. She took a sip of her own drink. He was pretty sure it was orange juice. 

Bucky had yet to see her drink coffee at all. He found it odd considering he hadn’t met an adult that didn’t drink it. “You don’t drink coffee.” It came out more of a statement than a question.

“Huh, oh yeah well since I’m mildly allergic to caffeine and decaf doesn’t taste very good I don’t bother.”

He took a sip of his own coffee, “That’s gotta suck.” He wasn’t one of those people that needed coffee to function, but it certainly made it easier. 

Mare shrugged, “People always say that, but I don’t really know what I’m missing. Other than being miserable for a few days. Milk chocolate has some caffeine in it, so I have to watch how much I eat in one sitting. White chocolate doesn’t though, so that’s good.” She continued eating.

He hummed in acknowledgement then said, “How do you stay awake for long periods of time without caffeine?” 

She frowned a little and chewed and swallowed her bite before answering. “Sheer willpower I suppose. Also maybe because it’s never something I came to rely on. Copious amounts of sugar is a fine stand in too.”

“Fair enough.”

They ate in silence for a bit before she said, “On my way to get breakfast I saw a tattoo shop.”

The fork froze on the way to his mouth and he looked at her. She’d given him a necklace with an anti-possession charm on it yesterday, but hadn’t mentioned getting a tattoo. Really he hadn’t given it too much thought. Mostly because it made him think of demons and they made him think of Hell and… Those were not good places for his thoughts to go. 

“I suppose that means I should probably get one then,” he placed his fork back down, appetite suddenly gone. It wasn’t that he had a problem getting a tattoo, it was the implications that went along with it. He didn’t want to face something that could get into his head and make him do things. He’d already had 70 years of that. Then again this was the only way to prevent that.

Mare’s eyes narrowed a little and he dropped his head down. It unnerved him that she saw through him so easily. All she said was, “Better to bite the bullet now, if you’re going to.”

He sighed and rubbed at his face. “I suppose.”

“I’ll take that as a yes, then.”

“Can’t wait,” he muttered. Mare didn’t respond and just kept eating. 

Bucky would never admit it, but he dragged feet getting dressed. Mare clearly noticed, but she didn’t rush him or give him any looks. When they finally got to the place Bucky’s heart was in his throat, but he willed his face blank and his hands not to shake. 

Mare had already made a copy of the drawing and was holding it. She went in first and the bell above the door chimed when she did. Bucky was right behind her with his cap pulled down to cover his face and black glove on to cover up his hand.

The walls inside were brick and covered in artwork and the floor was a dull gray. To his immediate right was a sitting area with comfortable-looking furniture that didn’t match. Straight ahead was open space with three stations. Each one had a dentist type looking chair and curtain set up next to it. A man covered in dark tattoos was sitting in one of them reading a magazine. At a desk closer to the entrance a woman was sitting and drawing. He didn’t recognize the music that was playing in the background, but that wasn’t surprising. What was surprising was the smell of the place. It smelled sterilely clean, like antiseptic.

The woman (also covered in ink) looked up when they walked in. “Hey, welcome to Blue Rose Tattoos. I’m Jenny. How can I help you?”

Mare walked over to the desk and Bucky stayed a step behind her. For tactical reasons of course. He wasn’t nervous.

“My friend here wants to get a tattoo.” She gestured to Bucky with her thumb and the woman looked at him over Mare’s shoulder. “I was wondering if we could get it done now, since we’re leaving town tonight.”

The woman shrugged, “Well, as you can see we’re packed, but I think we’ll be able to fit him in.” She gestured to the sheet in Mare’s hand, “That it?”

“Yep,” Mare handed it over and then looked at him. She jerked her head in a come hither motion. He hesitated for a moment, but then came to stand next to her. 

“Looks cool.” She looked at him, “Where do you want it and how big?”

Bucky scratched the back of his neck and said the first thing that came to mind, “Same size it is on the paper and uh- on my shoulder blade I guess.”

The woman raised her eyebrows and he saw Mare give him a strange look out of the corner or his eye, “You guess?”

He shrugged and avoided eye contact. “You do know that they're permanent right?”

“Yes.” 

The woman stared at him for a moment and when he didn’t elaborate said, “Alright then. Which shoulder blade?”

“Right.” That answer came out very quickly. Not that he had a left shoulder blade to even put it on. And suddenly he was wondering how exactly he could get this tattoo without the woman realizing that he had a metal arm. Shit.

“Okay, well I’m gonna go sketch this you can follow me.” She got up from the chair and walked to one of the stations. Bucky took a deep breath and swallowed. She sat down at a stool and told him that he could sit down on the chair. 

He did and Mare said, “Hey, I’ve got some stuff to do. You want me here?”

Some small part of him did want her there, but the bigger part didn’t want to show that much weakness.

He shrugged, “I’ll call you when it’s over.”

Mare nodded, “Cool. See you then.” Then she left, she just left exactly like he’d asked her to. 

The man got up from his chair and said, “I’m gonna go take lunch Jenny.” He went out a backdoor that probably led into an alley. ‘And then there were two his mind added silently. 

The woman, Jenny, finished her sketching and showed it to him, “Look good?”

“Yeah.” 

She nodded and said, “You can take off your shirt now.”

Bucky swore silently. What was he supposed to say? The best lies were based in truth. Right? “Hey- I- uh… I have some pretty bad burn scars on my left side and I was wondering if I-uh could keep it covered?” He held his breath.

Jenny, however, didn’t even blink. “Yeah, sure man.” She rolled back in her stool some and pointed to a door. “Bathroom’s over there. You can take off your shirt and keep your jacket halfway on. I don’t care as long as I can get at the spot you want the tattoo.”

He nodded and went into the bathroom. It was a cramped place with the same kind of walls as the rest of the shop. He took off his jacket and shirt and avoided looking at himself in the mirror, as he always did. He put the jacket back on and took a few moments to adjust it. 

Bucky took a few deep breaths and reminded himself that Jenny was clearly a professional. He opened the door with his shirt in his hand. The texture of the jacket felt odd on his bare skin, but it was better than her seeing his metal arm, so he could suffer it.

“Straddle the chair please.” Jenny was sitting in her stool with black gloves on and her station set up.

He swallowed and did so. “So, first I'm gonna clean the area with some antiseptic then apply the stencil. You can check the placement after that, then if you’re satisfied I’ll get started.”

“Okay.”

Something cold and wet touched his shoulder blade and he tensed. Her touch was firm and somehow clinical. It was oddly comforting. He was just another customer to her. Nothing special. 

“Now for the stencil,” she placed it on his back. He heard the stool roll back. “You can look at it in the mirror if you want.”

He stood carefully and looked at his reflection briefly. It seemed fine. “Looks fine.” He sat back down in the chair.

“Alright then, make yourself comfortable.” He heard the tattoo machine start buzzing and the sound made him tense again. “It won’t hurt as much, if you relax.” 

Bucky tried to release as much of the tension in his muscles as he could. She touched one hand to his shoulder. “Ready?”

He shifted in the chair a little, “Yes.”

“Okay, just know that we can take a break whenever you’d like. This whole thing is on your terms not mine.”

He nodded and she began. It hurt, but in the grand scheme of things it didn’t hurt nearly as much as many of the things he’d been through. In fact after a few minutes he relaxed and grew used to it. It probably wasn’t a good sign that constant pain relaxed him, but he didn’t let himself think about it. He was glad that Jenny didn’t try to talk to him, beyond an occasional “Are you okay?”

The other man had come back at some point and he started on someone else, but they were behind a curtain and didn’t talk to either of them. Bucky was glad of that too.

The whole process took about three hours and his shoulder had gone a numb by the end of it. Jenny leaned back and said, “Done. You can take a look if you want.”

“Okay.” He got up carefully and glanced at it in the mirror. The ink was dark and the skin around it red. It was odd to have something permanently marked on his skin, but he found that he didn’t mind it.

“Looks good.” He glanced over to Jenny who was cleaning her station.

“Great. Now please sit back down. I have to wrap it.”

Bucky did and she wrapped it and explained how to take care of it. He was glad that it would heal quicker than she said it would. He went back into the bathroom and put his shirt and jacket back on. His shoulder blade was sore and he had to move slowly.

When he came back out she was still cleaning her station. She went back to the register and he followed. He paid and gave her what he hoped was a fair tip. “Thanks for doing business! Hope to see you again!”

He nodded to her. “You too,” and left. Once outside he pulled out his phone and called Mare. She picked up after three rings.

“Done?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, I’m back at the hotel, so I’ll be about ten minutes.” Then she hung up. He took the phone away from his ear and stared down at it. He supposed that he probably deserved that.

He waited outside of the shop with his shoulder blade burning, waiting for her to show up. Ten minutes later her truck pulled up to the curb. He got in slower than usual, in an attempt not to jostle his shoulder.

“How’d it go?” Mare asked as she pulled away from the curb.

“Fine,” he glanced in the backseat. There were two full plastic bags back there. “What’s that?”

“Tacos and beer. I was getting hungry and I figured you would be too.”

“Thanks.”

“No, problem.” She shifted her hands on the wheel. “I also think I found another hunt. On the other side of the state. I want to leave tomorrow.”

Bucky blinked, “Already?”

Mare gave him an odd look, “Well, yeah. You have a reason to stick around here?”

“No.”

“Then we leave tomorrow. I don’t like to stay idle for long.”

“I wouldn’t call what we’ve been doing idle.” They’d only finished a hunt a day ago and yesterday had not been relaxing.

Mare just shrugged. Bucky wondered if his preference for saying as little as possible was rubbing off on her.


	5. A Hunting We Wil Go

Bucky had been hunting with Mare for about three weeks now and it had been interesting to say the least. They’d cut across Tennessee through Nashville to a small town called Pine View. There they had hunted a small pack of skinwalkers that had been kidnapping young girls. That had gone better than his first hunt. Mare had been right; hunting something with a body was far easier. 

After that they’d gone southeast to Georgia and hunted a family of ghouls. Apparently they usually ate the dead, but this family had taken a liking to fresher meat. Her words not his. Ghouls he found were much harder to kill than skinwalkers. They were tougher. Even being hit by his metal arm didn’t do much damage. Only beheading and a headshot at close range with a shotgun did them in. He did find that he and Mare fought very well together. It was odd how quickly they found each other’s rhythms and translated it into fighting. It made things go much smoother. 

He also found that Mare was scary good at land navigation, especially through the woods. The family of ghouls had been kidnapping people and then taking them to an abandoned house in the middle of the woods to kill them. The only way in driving, would have given them away, so she’d had them hike almost two and a half miles through the woods. Smart thinking and exactly what he would have done. However, he also would have needed a map and a compass to get through the woods, as thick as they were. Mare just looked at a map briefly and started hiking. She hadn’t gotten lost on the way there or back when it had been dark. Apparently she was one of those people with an innate sense of direction. He was positive that you could drop her in any woods anywhere with nothing but the clothes on her back and she’d probably be back to civilization before you were.

When he had asked about it she’d said, “My parents taught me land nav. Then they started randomly dropping me off in the middle of the woods near wherever we were staying; day or night. Gave me a compass, a map, food, and water and told me to get back. Then they’d take one item away at a time until I could get back with nothing more than a pocket knife.” Her voice and expression were always carefully controlled whenever she talked about her parents and he didn’t have to ask if they were dead. 

He also very quickly noticed how much her behavior was like that of someone who was on the run. She almost always paid with cash, she angled her face away from cameras, traveled light, kept on the move, and usually backed into spots. Except that people who were on the run were usually far more tense and paranoid than Mare was. She didn’t constantly look over her shoulder, nor was she tense and always watching. That didn’t mean that she wasn’t observant, though. She’d mastered watching without looking like she did. He doubted much got past her.

Eventually he’d realized that she must have lived like that since she was a child, for her to be so used to it. The thought of her as a child constantly on the move, learning how to shoot and fight, and how to survive in the woods with nothing for days bothered him. A lot. So, he avoided telling her his personal opinion on teaching a child how to hunt monsters for a living. He doubted that she would appreciate it.  
After finishing the ghoul hunt, Mare had started west for whatever reason and in an Alabama bar they’d quite literally stumbled across a wraith. Bucky had started going with her whenever she went to bars to hustle people. Watching her play the idiot men in bars turned out to be very entertaining. They always played right into her hands and then when they’d had the audacity to try and not pay up well… it wasn’t like he’d never been in a bar fight. Though that particular night had been more of a ‘let’s get the hell out of here before shit goes down’ kind of night. 

…

Bucky kept a step behind Mare as they walked into the bar. He knew her intention was to double the money she’d made two nights ago. The multiple motorcycles parked out front meant men who had money to waste and the arrogance to lose it. Once inside, however, it became clear that the motorcycles belonged to two clubs instead of one as he’d assumed; and they clearly weren’t on good terms. He could see the division amongst them almost as soon as they walked in. One side seemed to be rather outnumbered though, so a fight seemed unlikely.

They took a booth that seemed to be in the most neutral spot in the bar. Whiskey neat for both of them and Mare started canvasing the bar. She paid special attention to the men that were at the pool tables. Bucky watched the rest of the men. 

The bar wasn’t very rowdy despite the crowd and he got the feeling that everyone was waiting for something. Mare’s constant glances around the room told him that she noticed it too. 

The feeling got worse when more men came in and joined one side. It made both sides even up. The tension in the air stretched and tightened like a rubber band. The promise of violence was reflected in many of the eyes of the men in the room. He and Mare seemed to have stumbled across something that had been brewing for a while.

The room quieted down even more and the only ones that seemed oblivious were the waitress and the young man she was flirting with. He leaned over and whispered something to her and she nodded and giggled.

“I’m gonna take my break now Murph,” she told the bartender happily. He made a sound of acknowledgment. The couple went out a side door, that probably led into an alley, touching and laughing the whole way. The bartender, who had been cleaning glasses, took one more look around the room and then disappeared into the kitchen.

“We should get out of here,” he muttered. The two sides had gotten into tighter groups within themselves and the pool players had stopped playing. 

Mare swigged the rest of her whiskey, “Agreed.” She put down some money and stood up. Bucky knocked back the rest of his whiskey too. It didn’t do anything for him, but the taste wasn’t so bad. 

She kept her movements lazy and disinterested, but Bucky knew better. Mare was on high alert. She moved towards the side door. It was exactly what he had been thinking. Walking through the middle of both sides to get to the front entrance would be asking for trouble. One of the men looked at the two of them briefly, but then his gaze came back and lingered on Mare. Bucky didn’t appreciate that.

He drew himself up straighter and let his right arm drape across Mare’s back lightly. She tensed slightly, but then relaxed quickly enough that he didn’t have time to second guess the decision. Then they were outside and the door was shutting behind them with a click. 

The repulsive smell of the alley hit him in the face and Bucky lifted one of his sleeves to cover his nose. They started walking and Mare turned and opened her mouth to say something, but Bucky cut her off. Movement at the end of the alley caught his attention and it was not that of two lovers.

The alley was dimly lit, but he could see the waitress holding up the limp body of the young man by the back of his shirt. She had her wrist pressed into his neck. She jerked her head up, noticing them. She straightened up and removed her wrist from his head and a spike projecting from it came out with a horrible squelching sound. The body of the young man dropped to the ground and didn’t move. The waitress smiled ominously.

A year ago, hell a month ago Bucky would have frozen, panicked, and tried to convince himself that what he’d just seen wasn’t real. Now though he was prepared. He’d finished reading Mare’s monster journal and recognized the wrist spike as that of a wraith. Silver to the heart was the only way to take them down permanently.

Well, now he knew why Mare insisted on having a silver knife on her person at all times and he do the same. They drew their knives at the same time.

The wraith who had been smiling ominously, suddenly looked less confident. Yelling and loud crashes sounded from inside the bar followed by gunshots. Shit. The wraith bolted. Double shit. Bucky ran after the wraith and caught up to her right before she turned out of the alley. He yanked her back and Mare met the wraith’s panicked movements with her silver knife. Her skin sizzled and the wraith screeched. Bucky shoved his silver knife into her back and through to her heart. The wraith made a choking sound and fell to the ground dead. 

They both wiped their blades clean. More crashes and bangs sounded from inside and soon after police sirens. Mare put away her blade, “We need to get the hell out of here.” She jogged out of the alley and back towards the truck.

“No, shit,” Bucky muttered as he put his own knife away and followed her. They both got in and Mare had just started it when the front door of the bar slammed open and a man stumbled out. He was clearly bleeding. Another man came out right after, armed and pointing the gun at the first man. The one holding the gun had been the one to give them a double take earlier. He glanced up.

”Of course the one time I don’t back in I should have,” Mare muttered and slammed the truck into reverse and swung back, narrowly missing some of the parked motorcycles. Bucky grabbed onto the handle above the door. The sirens were getting louder. She shifted into drive and jumped the curve and swung a hard right onto the street. Another gunshot sounded. Bucky and Mare flinched at the same time. Nothing hit the truck though and Bucky didn’t bother looking back as Mare sped away. 

It was less than five minutes to the hotel and Mare didn’t bother parking correctly. She stopped right in front of their room and put it into park. Once at the door she went for her key card, but couldn’t seem to find it. “Shit,” she mumbled. Bucky pulled his out of his pocket and handed it to her. He could hear sirens in the distance, but they didn’t seem to be getting any closer. For now at least.

The door opened and they went inside and grabbed up their stuff quickly. Bucky finished first and took one last glance at the bathroom, just to be sure. It was empty and he walked back out. Mare was zipping up her duffle.

She glanced up, “Anything else?”

“Nope.” She nodded and they were out the door and back into the truck. Mare headed for the interstate. The more mile markers they passed, the more Bucky allowed himself to relax. He knew Mare was also relaxed when she went from holding both hands firmly on the wheel to switching it to one. 

“So,” Bucky asked after a while, “Does this kind of thing happen often?”

Mare snorted, “Which part?”

“Uh, all of it?” His heart rate was still going strong. Adrenaline was still running through him and he felt twitchy. He was still ready for a fight. Mare, though more relaxed, seemed to be the same. She kept switching from right to left to both hands holding the wheel, and drumming her fingers.

“Well, I’ve never been in a gang shootout or narrowly missed one, but I have been in a bar shootout. I can say for certain that I have never accidentally stumbled across a monster feeding, though. That’s a first.”

“That’s good I guess.” Bucky paused then and considered her words. “How many shootouts have you been in?”

“Picked up on the way I specified bar huh?”

“Clearly.”

She blew out a breath, “Yeah, I was in an underground black market looking for a cursed object, and the FBI raided. It was chaos of course and pretty easy to get out, and I didn’t get shot, but there were a few close calls. The worst part was that it took me another two months to track down the cursed object.”

“What was the object?”

“A necklace that choked the wearer. Only if the wearer was a redhead though. It was weird to say the least.”

“Weird for even you?” Bucky asked.

Mare nodded, “Weird even for me.” 

“That’s a little disturbing, not gonna lie.” 

“It is, isn't it?” She sighed and leaned back in the seat. “We’re gonna need to stop for gas soon. You want to stop and get a hotel or keep moving?”

“Keep moving. I’m still too wired.”

“Good you can drive then.”

Bucky gave her a bewildered look. She’d let him drive literally one other time. “What?”

“Did you have a stroke or something?”

Mare rolled her eyes, “No, but my adrenaline is starting to wear off and dying in a fiery crash after just narrowly missing a gang shootout is exactly my kind of luck.”

He blew out a breath, “You and me both.”

...

Mare pulled off at the next exit and they got gas and switched seats. Bucky got back onto I-65, heading southwest. Mare was tired, but she also didn’t think she could go to sleep.

“Care if I put on music?” That would probably help. She felt like loudly singing along to some music. Far more obnoxiously than she had previously; with Bucky in the car at least.

“Nope,” he said without even looking at her. 

“Cool,” she turned and reached into the backseat to fish her I-pod out of her bag. A little outdated, but it worked for her purposes. She didn’t feel like playing the radio right now. She plugged it into the aux cord and started scrolling through her songs.

Mare picked “7 Nation Army” to start it off and turned up the volume. “I’m about to get a little obnoxious, Bucky. Fair warning.” She started bobbing her head to the beat.

He frowned and glanced over at her, “What do you mean?”

She just grinned at him and started singing along loudly with the lyrics. Bucky looked over at her with an ‘are you serious look?’

Mare ignored him. He rolled his eyes and muttered something she didn’t catch over the music.

Next she chose, “You’re Gonna Go Far Kid.” She really loved this song in particular and started dancing in her seat to it. Bucky kept side eyeing her, but Mare wasn’t fooled. Everytime he turned back to the road she could see him trying not to smile. Mare suddenly realized that in almost a month of knowing this man she hadn’t heard him laugh. Maybe some chuckles or snorts, but no full out belly laughs. That was her goal for tonight: make Bucky laugh out loud.

Her attempts to make him laugh went from “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield to “Mama’s Broken Heart” by Miranda Lambert to “Drunk On A Plane” by Dierks Bently to “A Boy Named Sue” by Johnny Cash. That last one had almost done it. Bucky was shaking his shoulders in silent laughter and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. This next song would be the one to do it, so she had to pick a good one. A grin crossed her face when she found it. 

“Stacy’s Mom” by Fountains of Wanye began. He was trying really hard to keep it in, but he lost it at...

“Stacy, can't you see?  
You're just not the girl for me  
I know it might be wrong but  
I'm in love with Stacy's mom”

Mare was pretty sure singing into the handle of one of her knives as if it were a microphone was what had really done it, though. Maybe she should have led with that. Bucky’s full out laugh was easily one of the best things she’d ever heard. She silently pledged to make him laugh as much as possible. It made him look softer, less like the weight of the entire world was on his shoulders. She knew plenty about that.

The song came to an end and they were both still grinning. “Bet they didn’t have music like that when you were growing up huh Bucky?”

He laughed again, “You’d be surprised. Some of the songs we sang in the army came pretty close.”

Mare looked over at him, now intrigued, “Oh, really? You’re telling me that THE Captain America sang inappropriate army songs back in the day? I don’t believe it.”

Bucky smiled, but it was oddly wistful. “He’d pretend to be all disappointed in us while we were singing them, but I caught him humming them to himself more than once.”

“Let me guess. He said that he just liked the tune.”

“Pretty much. How’d you know?”

Mare smiled, “Oh, I have a very close friend that refuses to admit he likes Taylor Swift, but I catch him humming it all the time. He says that he just likes the tune.”

“Hmm, is it bad that I don’t know who Taylor Swift is?”

Mare shifted in the seat and made herself more comfortable. “Nah. She’s a country singer or used to be. Now she does pop now. Really popular.”

“Ah.”

“Yep, I’m sure I have some of her songs if you want to listen.”

Bucky flicked his head to the side, “Play whatever you want Mare. I don’t really care.”

She turned and looked at him curiously. “No music preferences Bucky?”

He shook his head, “No not really. Not modern ones anyway.” He shifted his grip on the wheel. “I honestly haven’t tried to catch up on the times all that much. At least not as far as pop culture goes.”

“Hmm, bit of a shame Bucky I’m not gonna lie. I’m sure there’s some stuff I can find that you’d like.”

“Probably,” he conceded. “But no one had the time to really guide me through any of it and I got overwhelmed everytime I tried on my own.” His voice had gone quieter by the end of it. His shoulders tightened too and she realized that he may have thought that he overshared a little. 

Mare, though, was a little more than miffed at the other Avengers. Not even Steve bothered to take the time to help him acclimate? She supposed saving the world was a full time job, but still. Everyone needed leisure time- especially the people who had high stress jobs. Even she took breaks from hunting occasionally. 

“Well, lucky for you when we’re on the road, we’ve got nothing but time. I’m sure I can get you updated rather easily.”

“Can’t wait,” Bucky said dryly.

Mare gave him a look and was about to retort when her phone started buzzing in her jacket. She pulled it out and looked at the caller-ID. It was Sam. She frowned and glanced at the digital clock under the radio. It was 1:01am. People didn’t call at one in the morning with good news. 

She answered with, “Please tell me no one’s dead.”

Bucky gave her a look which she ignored. There was silence on Sam’s end of the phone. “Sam? Hello? Anybody there?”

“What- yeah, Mare I’m here. And no, no one is dead. Why do you always come to that conclusion first?”

“You call me at one in the morning and you want me to assume your reason for doing so was a good one?”

He sighed, but didn’t respond right away. “I can hear your brooding shoulders all the way from here Sam. Out with it.”

“Yeah, yeah- okay. Dean and I were taking out a nest of vamps up in Washington state and we found out that they have a… I don’t know what to call it. Sister nest maybe? Either way it’s somewhere in Southwestern Louisiana and we hoped that since that’s your neck of the woods you’d be closer.”

“Well, I’m in Mississippi right now, so good timing, but how do you know the location isn’t bullshit?”

“We asked nicely,” Sam said flatly.

“Fair, enough.” She knew exactly what that meant. “Anything in particular I should be looking for to narrow down the location of the nest?”

“Disappearances of athletic people in their twenties. A body or two drained of blood that matches the same description. We’re pretty sure that they’re the ones that didn’t make the cut.”

Mare nodded, “Good to know. Anything else?”

“Nothing beyond the usual. Just- you know be careful Mare. We don’t know how big the nest is. And if it’s too much for you, just stake it out and we can be there in a few days.”

“A Winchester telling me to be careful. That’s a laugh.” How many times had they both died and or caused an apocalypse?

“Mare,” Sam said in that slightly disappointed voice he sometimes adopted.

Mare rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah Sam I know. I’ll be careful. I know what I can handle. I’ll keep you updated on anything I find. Tell Dean and Cas I said hi.”

“Okay, I will. Bye Mare.”

“Bye Sam.” She hung up the phone and put it back into her jacket. She sighed and glanced over at Bucky.

“Ready for your first vampire hunt?”

He glanced over at her. “Do I really have a choice?” He asked sarcastically. 

“Well, yeah always, but I was hoping for a little bit more enthusiasm Bucky.”

An odd look crossed his face and he didn’t say anything in response. In fact he went very quiet and Mare wondered what she’d said that could have affected him so much. Mare let him be quiet and instead pulled out her laptop to start searching for missing people.

...

Mare tracked the disappearances to a town called Oretta, LA while they were on the road. Bucky pulled into a motel on the outskirts of town and Mare got them a room. She’d told him about what her hunter friends had found, but he had yet to say anything else. It was stupid, but Bucky couldn’t get over what she’d said earlier. She’d said it so matter of factly; like choice wasn’t something that had been taken away from him for seventy years.

Bucky was positive that she had no idea how much her words meant to him. She’d always given him choices and information to go along with them. But hearing it outloud was somehow different. 

They walked into the room and set their stuff down. “I’m gonna take a nap Bucky and then we can start investigating.”

He made an affirmative sound and Mare sat down on her bed and took off her boots, socks, and jacket. Then she took her hair down out of its ponytail and ran a hand through her hair. She flopped back on the bed. She put her gun on the bedside table and pulled out her phone. “I’m gonna set an alarm for three hours from now.”

“Alright,” he muttered. 

Mare set her phone down and looked at him like she could see through him. He avoided her gaze. “Are you okay Bucky?”

He jerked his head up in surprise and looked down at her. Mare’s gaze was concerned, but not in a pitying way. More of a ‘I actually give a shit about how you feel’ way. He didn’t know how to deal with that so he lashed out.

“Why do you care?” He snarled. 

Her eyes narrowed and he saw her nostrils flare. Good, he could bear her anger, he didn’t know what to do with her concern. Her mouth opened too and he expected a scathing remark. Instead she shut her mouth and the ire disappeared. Apparently she wasn’t easily fooled. Another look replaced it, this one filled with an understanding he didn’t deserve. 

She sat up, “You’re too used to people reacting to you with anger and hate Bucky, so you make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. I refuse to take part in that.” Why could she see right through him better than almost everyone he knew?

Mare stared at him unwaveringly. Bucky just sank onto his bed. He put his head in his hands. “I’m sorry Mare,” he whispered. He hoped she would drop it and they could forget this ever happened. He really should have known better.

“Are you though Bucky? Because this is the second time you’ve pulled something like that. I already told you I don’t put up with bullshit.” 

He looked up, but not at her, “I don’t do it on purpose-” Mare raised an eyebrow in disbelief- “Okay, maybe I do, but… no one ever reacts like you do! Everyone either snaps back or they back off! You do neither!” His voice got louder the longer he went on. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to do or say!” He was breathing hard and Mare was just staring at him waiting for him to finish.

She crossed her arms, “News flash Bucky. I don’t know what the fuck I should do or say either. I react how I think is best. Sometimes I do it right. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I really, really don’t. But no matter what I learn from it. That’s life; as crappy as it can be.”

Bucky sighed deeply. “Alright, Mare.” She had a point as much as he hated it. He wasn’t used to people pushing back. Maybe it would be good for him. 

Her shoulders relaxed and she stared at him for a moment. He took a deep breath and met her gaze. After a few moments she broke away and laid back down. “Glad we’re on the same page Bucky.” She turned over.

Bucky watched her side move up and down as she breathed. He should really stop trying to piss her off. It clearly wasn’t going to work for him. He sighed again and got up and fished his laptop out of his bag. He knew he wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon, so he might as well be useful. Maybe he could find some possible locations for the vampire nest.

…

Mare laid on her stomach on the crest of a hill overlooking a warehouse. She watched for movement through binoculars. However, large pine trees were blocking most of her view. Which was why Bucky had gone down to take a closer look. Even though it was late afternoon Bucky moved silently and invisibly and she’d quickly lost sight of him through the trees. 

This was the second place they’d investigated and the only one that showed any activity. There were two trucks and two SUVs parked out front. One of the SUVs had a large chip in the black paint near the bumper. It matched the description of the SUV a friend of one of the kidnapped had noticed frequently in the days leading up to his disappearance.

It confirmed her growing suspicions that this was indeed the place. She could see vague movement around the entrance or maybe it was the exit. There was probably more than one. The wind picked up some and she shifted back down the ridge a little. She and Bucky had both rubbed on a special scent blocking mixture. It smelled awful, but it would keep the vampires from getting a read on their smell and allow them to get close undetected. 

She sensed Bucky a few moments before he laid down next to her. “There’s a lot of them. I count at least ten, might be more. All of the people who disappeared are inside.”

“Tied up?”

“Not from what I could tell.”

“Mmm. Means that they’ve already been changed and fed. Did you see anyone vampire that might be the leader?”

“A guy that looks to be in his late twenties was giving orders. He was the oldest-looking of the bunch. Had a different air about him. I’m sure that he’s older than he looks.”

“Anything else?”

Bucky shifted, “Yeah, they’re getting ready to move. Two of them are covered head to toe and loading the vehicles.”

Mare swore under her breath. It was rare for vampires to move in broad daylight, unless something provoked them. Had the vamps in Washington managed to get out a warning in time? Or had they been spotted? “Are they rushing?” 

“No, and none of them seemed particularly nervous either. There wasn’t even a lookout.”

Well that meant that they had the element of surprise, but it also meant that they were running out of time. A nest of ten or more was a lot for only two hunters to take on and the Winchesters were at least two days out. Even a distraction wouldn’t buy them enough time. However, letting them go wasn’t an option either. It would be too easy to lose them and the longer they trailed, the more likely the vampires would be to pick up on their scent. Not to mention this whole ritual seemed very practiced. She was willing to bet that this was not the first time this nest had done this. 

She told Bucky as much. He nodded and she could see him mulling the information around. “Tell me about the layout.” 

“There’s two entrances. One larger one in the front near the vehicles and another smaller one around the back. Inside there’s a ground level where most of them are just hanging out. Some boxes are stacked up inside along the walls. Then there’s a much smaller upper level with stairs leading up to it. It’s on the far side from us.”

Mare considered the information silently and let a plan form in her mind. It was a little reckless if she was being honest, but if they didn’t want the vampires to get away it was their only one. She spelled it all out to him. No bullshit.

“If I say no will you still go?” He asked after a few seconds.

“Yes,” her plan would require tweaking and a shitton more luck, but she wasn’t about to just let these sonsofbitches get away.

Bucky muttered something under his breath that she didn’t catch, “Let’s go.”

Mare nodded and they both got up. She made her way slowly around to where they were loading the vehicles. She sliced through the tires of the vehicles while Bucky was barring the only other exit. They were both armed with two machetes. No dead man’s blood though. She hadn’t had a chance to steal any from a mortuary. Then again she really hadn’t expected to attack this quickly either.

Bucky came up next to where she was crouched. One of the vampires came out carrying boxes. He was wearing long sleeves, pants, a neck gaiter, sunglasses, and a hat. It was at least 80 degrees out, but Mare wanted to be absolutely sure. Bucky grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. Mare pulled the neck gaiter down and his eyes went wide and he struggled, but Bucky had him well pinned. His skin blistered almost instantly in the sun and he flashed his fangs and growled. Mare silenced him with a chop to the head.

The second one came out seconds later and they repeated the process. Minus the removal of the neck gaiter. It seemed unnecessary. Bucky pulled the body to the side. They went to either side of the entrance and waited. It didn’t take long. 

She could hear the chattering of multiple voices from inside. A voice louder than the rest called out, “Hey, Andrew what’s taking you two so long? The shit ain’t heavy.”

Silence. The voices inside quieted. She could hear footsteps getting closer. They stopped just outside the light of the sun. “Andrew? Tom? Where are y-” He cut off abruptly. He must have seen the blood. 

Bucky reached in and yanked the vamp into the sun. He screeched and Mare sliced his head off. Bucky met her eyes for just a second and she nodded sharply. They both entered the warehouse. 

Bucky slammed the door shut behind them. There were eight vampires inside. For a second there was silence, then the one closest to the stairs shouted, “They’re hunters! Kill them!”

The vampires flashed their fangs and lunged. The two that came at her did so sloppily. Their movements were easy to dodge. They didn’t coordinate their attacks and Mare took off the first one’s head easily. Blood sprayed. It was warm and sticky on her face. She kept her mouth tightly shut. The body hit the ground and the head rolled.

The other one snarled and launched at Mare again and tried to grab her. She blocked the attack with her machete and kicked him in the knee. She smacked him in the face with the handle. He stumbled back and tried to catch himself. Mare sliced at his neck. He rolled to the side and the blade cut through air. 

He charged her again and Mare shifted slightly and lifted the machete right as he was passing by. The blade met skin that time. More blood and the handle was getting slick. She sensed movement behind her and twisted back, swinging the machete.

The vampire had already moved well out of her range. She knew instantly that it was one of the older ones. He kept lunging then retreating before she could swing, forcing her farther into the warehouse. Blood and sweat mixed on her face and dripped into her eyes. It obscured her vision briefly and the vamp took advantage of that. The vamp lunged and Mare dodged him and rolled to the side. She sprung back to her feet. 

She and the vampire stared each other down. He grinned slowly and Mare’s stomach dropped. Somehow she was exactly where the vamp wanted her to be. She risked a glance around. It moved faster than the younger ones did and tried to grab her arms. Mare tried to stab at him with the machete, but he twisted her wrist. She tried to brace against his weight, but he was too strong.

The vampire shoved her against the support beam behind her. Her back took the brunt of the blow and she felt the air leave her lungs. She let the machete drop and tried to keep him off her neck. Her arms were braced against his neck and she pushed with all the force she could muster. She was tall enough that he couldn’t lift her up at the same time, so she had air, but the vampire was much stronger than her. It was a losing battle, but she kept fighting and twisting and kicking. 

He flashed his fangs at her again and Mare punched him in the face. Then his head was sliced from his body. Both fell to the ground with a thump. Bucky was right in front of her; machete dripping with blood. He was breathing hard. Their eyes met briefly. Mare just nodded sharply and unsheathed her other machete.

She stepped over the body and they turned to meet the remaining vampires. Four bodies were on the ground. Two were still standing and they attacked both of them right as they turned. She didn’t have time to wonder where the other one had gone.

“Drop the machetes or she dies!”

She and Bucky both froze. The third vampire was up on the platform of the upper level. He was holding a young woman hostage. He had a dagger at her throat. They had been fighting side by side and she felt Bucky straighten next to her.

“Please, please. Drop them. I don’t want to die,” the girl sobbed. Mare was immediately suspicious. No one this young had gone missing and if she had been kidnapped why hadn’t she been changed already? She was almost sure it was a ruse, but apparently Bucky was more convinced. 

He dropped his machete before she could warn him. One of the vampires slammed him over the head with a pipe. He dropped. The last thing she saw before darkness descended on her too was the vampire releasing the woman and her flashing her fangs.

…

Bucky’s head was throbbing. Not badly, but certainly noticeable. He tried to move, but found that he couldn’t. His right arm was chained to the support beam behind him and more chains went across his torso. Even more chain was wrapped around his left arm. Clearly they knew who he was and didn’t want to take any chances. He slowly looked around.

He was still on the ground floor. The young woman that had been held hostage earlier was having a heated discussion with the one he thought was the leader. He could tell from their body language that the woman was clearly the dominant one. The dagger that had been at her throat was at her waist. Well shit. Bucky could’ve kicked himself. Just because she looked eighteen, didn’t mean she was. The two others were standing around, trying to look like they weren’t listening. None seemed to be too concerned with him.

The bodies had been pulled away, but the blood was still there. Gruesome pools of red. He winced a little and turned away. He didn’t regret having to do it, but taking off something’s head was not a pleasant experience. 

When he turned to his right he saw that Mare was also chained to a support beam, but it was only her hands. They were in thick metal cuffs and the chain was pulled up, so that her arms were suspended above her. Her head was hanging limp. She must have been knocked out too. She was covered in specks and larger spots of blood. He was pretty sure it wasn’t hers. However, he could see a thick line of blood slowly making its way down the back of her neck. 

The sight of it awoke something in him and he surged towards her without even realizing it. It was all his fucking fault. The chains rattled together as he pulled forward, but they held. He slumped back against the metal behind him. There was almost no slack and he didn’t have any leverage either. The noise drew the attention of the vampires. 

The leader turned and grinned at him, “Ah, you’re awake. Now the fun can begin!” 

Bucky just glared. He had no interest in finding out what she considered fun. Though he was more disturbed by the fact that she didn’t seem to be very angry. They had just wiped out most of her nest and she didn’t even look annoyed. Not a good sign.

The vampire she’d been talking to rolled his eyes and muttered something. She turned to him, the annoyance on her face plain. “If you have something to say Danny, then say it.” Her tone was sharp and the other vampires looked on with interest. Good if they were at odds with each other it would be easier to fight them.

He huffed, “We should kill them both and get out of here Audrey. The longer we stick around the more likely someone else is to show up. And we don’t know if they have backup.”

She scoffed, “If they had backup they would have gotten here already. Besides don’t you want to know how James Buchanan Barnes became a hunter.” She sent him a smile.

Bucky continued to glare. The vampire crossed his arms, “No, I don’t and I don’t want the Avengers on our ass either. It’s already hard enough to eat with hunters around. We don’t need superheroes knowing about us too.”

She rolled her eyes, but it was a very familiar voice that spoke up instead. “You know you really should be curious Danny. It’s a very interesting story.”

Bucky looked over to find Mare awake and very pissed. The female vampire turned to face her, “Oh, you look like you’re a lot more fun.”

Mare jerked at the chains on her wrists, “I’d be even more fun if you unlocked these things.”

She grinned and walked closer to Mare. “Tempting, very tempting, but I don’t think so.” 

The vampire, Danny, threw up his hands, “Audrey stop playing around. We need to get rid of them.”

Audrey didn’t respond, but instead got closer to Mare, like something had just caught her attention. Danny took a few steps forward, “What is it?”

Mare who had yet to be visibly tense, suddenly was. Bucky in turn started pulling at the chains hoping to find a weak spot. This was the closest Bucky had ever seen Mare to panicking.

Audrey reached forward and Mare arched her head away from the vampire’s hand. Audrey started grinning like she’d just won the lottery, “Well, look at what we’ve got here.” 

Danny walked over. “What?” He repeated

She gripped Mare’s face and turned it to the left. Mare tried to twist her head away, but the vampire’s grip was too strong. If looks could kill Audrey would be dead.

His eyes widened a little and he stepped back, “Audrey we need to kill them both and get out of here. The longer she stays alive the more likely it is that we die. Or the Winchesters get involved and we still die.” 

Was Mare seriously so good that monsters both recognized and feared her? Because there was fear in Danny’s eyes as much as he tried to hide it. He was pretty sure he knew what the vampires must have seen. It was a scar that went up the right side of her neck and ended on her jawbone. If he had to guess he’d say it came from a knife, but he’d never asked about who had been holding it. 

Mare continued to glare and jerked and twisted at her chains. Bucky saw blood drip from her wrists and winced. What the hell was she doing?

Audrey huffed and shoved Mare’s head away. “You’re being dramatic Danny. She’s just another hunter and the Winchesters are idiots. Besides I know quite a few demons who would pay handsomely to take a piece out of Ms. Mare here. We can get rid of him and hit paydirt with her.” That wasn't good and the fact that demons would pay good to get a chance at Mare sent up about a dozen red flags. Just how good was she?

Danny pointed a finger at Mare, “One rule Audrey! We have one rule! We don’t fuck with the ones that have been to hell and back! Monsters who fuck with them end up dead!”

Audrey whipped around and started arguing with Danny. What did to hell and back mean? Mare continued to pull at the cuffs and he watched as more blood dripped from her wrists. She had to know that she wasn’t going to be breaking the chains anytime soon. So, what was she… Oh, shit. He realized what she intended to do right before she did it. She yanked one hand free of the cuff and then the other. She had to have dislocated her thumbs. He watched as she shoved them back into place with barely a wince. How many times had she done that? He didn’t think he wanted to know.

The other vampires who had been standing off to the side shouted a warning. Audrey and Danny turned around, eyes wide as Mare stood up. Mare shifted her feet and took a defensive stance. 

The vampires fashed their fangs. Danny grabbed Audrey and shouted to the others, “Kill them both!” 

Mare gestured backward with her hand slightly and Bucky glanced to the side. The machete she’d dropped earlier was close by. He kicked it towards her with his foot at the same time the other two charged at her. She dropped back and scooped up the machete, then swung it through the closer one’s neck. 

The other vampire didn’t stand much of a chance. Danny and Audrey ran out the door. Darkness had fallen while they’d been asleep. Bucky started pulling at the chains with his metal arm. The gears in his arm ground together and he felt the chains begin to give. Mare ended the fight between her and the other vampire with a particularly vicious slice to the neck. 

She straightened up and turned towards Bucky. He continued to pull at the chains. He felt his muscles strain and tense up. The chains gave loud metallic groan and then snapped. His left side was thrown forward some and he let his muscles relax briefly before he began pulling at the other chains. Mare was standing there staring at him with an odd look on her face. He gestured to the door. “They ran out that way. I’ll catch up.”

She stared at him for a moment longer then nodded and went over to where the rest of their weapons were. The vampires had disarmed them, but hadn’t taken the weapons with them. Then she was gone. Bucky wasn’t too concerned about who was going to win. Since she’d sliced the tires on the vehicles, the vampires had probably run into the woods. At that point he knew exactly who was going to come out on top.

Now that his metal arm was free it was easy enough to break the rest of the chains. He stood up and rubbed at the area where metal met skin on his shoulder. It always started to hurt when he strained it too much. Then he grabbed the rest of the weapons that Mare had left behind. He went out the door and followed the trail Mare had left. He knew she had left it on purpose because there was a trail at all. She usually didn’t leave behind a trace.

Bucky followed it into the woods and then followed the sounds of a fight. It was dark, but the sky was clear and the moon was bright. He didn’t need a flashlight and he doubted Mare had either. It wasn’t long before he came across a small clearing. Mare and Audrey were fighting. Danny’s body and head were on the ground. Audrey had that dagger out and was using it against Mare. Bucky circled around and waited for the right moment. 

Mare kicked Audrey in the chest and she stumbled back. Bucky took her head off from behind. Mare wasn’t startled by his sudden appearance. She straightened up, wiped some of the blood off of her machete, then sheathed it. “What took you so long Bucky? I left a trail and everything.”

She started off in what he assumed was the quickest way to the truck. Bucky rolled his eyes and sheathed his own machete. “Guess it wasn’t a very good trail then.” He caught up to her.

She sent him a look, but said nothing. He glanced over at her. As she walked he could see that she was favoring her left side slightly. Blood crusted her wrists and hands thickly, but she didn’t seem to still be bleeding. The both of them were covered in blood and she probably felt as sticky as he did.

“How are your wrists?”

Mare glanced down at the. “Been better. They’ll be fine after I get them cleaned.”

“And you ribs?”

“Sore." Bucky rubbed at his shoulder absently. "One of them kicked the shit out of my side. How’s your shoulder?” 

Bucky frowned and lowered his hand. She was so goddamn observant and he didn’t know why it kept catching him off guard. “What you think you’re the only one who’s observant?”

He sighed, “No, but for some reason it keeps catching me off guard,” he grumbled. 

Mare hummed, “I get that a lot actually. Probably has something to do with the fact that I’m never what people expect. Makes them underestimate me.” It was true. He’d seen it happen more than twice in their time together, but Bucky was under the opinion that if someone was stupid enough to underestimate her, then they deserved the consequences.

“An advantage is it not?”

She shrugged, “When it’s an enemy yes, but,” she paused, “It gets… tiring when the people who are supposed to know you better than anyone else, are constantly surprised when they see what you’re capable of.” 

“Then they’re idiots.” He’d known Mare for a little over a month, but he’d learned better than to underrate her in less than half that time. He couldn’t imagine someone who’d known her for years doing it.

Mare smiled slightly, “Well you’re not wrong, but they don’t do it on purpose. They just want to keep me safe. Hopefully." She said it like she was reassuring herself.

Bucky frowned. He could understand wanting to keep someone safe, but he also knew that people had to make their own choices. Bucky wasn’t going to be taking anyone’s choices away anytime soon. 

The dirt road that they had parked on came into view and Mare turned left and started walking down it. The truck was still sitting there; undisturbed.

“I think you’re capable of whatever you put your mind to and that anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool.”

Mare smiled again, very softly this time. He hadn’t seen that particular smile before. He liked being the cause of it, “Thank you Bucky,” she said just as softly. He got the feeling that she wasn’t told that nearly enough.

He just nodded and went to the passenger side of the truck. Mare unlocked the door, but instead of getting in she opened the backdoor. He stepped back so he could see her over the bed of the truck.

She tossed him his bag. He looked at her confused, “You leaving me behind?” She pulled out her own.

“No, but we’re both covered in blood, so I suggest we change before we head back to the motel.”

“Ah.”

“Yep and there’s water in the back of the truck if you want to grab it and wash off with it."

Mare went into the woods for privacy. Bucky glanced around and listened for a moment, confirming that he was alone. The dirt road they were on was a service road that was little used. He wasn't worried about traffic.

He changed quickly then grabbed a water bottle out of the back and washed off his face and hands with it. Mare came out of the woods a few minutes later, changed and holding her dirty clothes.

"I'm pretty sure I have trash bags in the back. We can put the bloody stuff in one and bring it into the motel to clean."

He jumped into the back and opened the container. Trash bags, canisters of salt and gasoline, as well as cleaning supplies were inside. He pulled out a trash bag and another water bottle and handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said and washed off with it.

He hummed in acknowledgment and grabbed their bloody clothes and put them in the bag. He also put their machetes in there. Those were going to be fun to clean. He put the plastic bag and their bags in the back seat.

Mare hissed quietly as she poured water over her wrists. She'd put on a hoodie and had the sleeves rolled up. The skin was bright red and torn, but it didn't look like anywhere would need stitches. Her thumbs we're both in place and again he wondered just how times she'd dislocated them for them to pop in and out that easily.

They both got into the truck. Mare had already parked so that the front of the truck would face the way they would want to go if they had to make a hasty retreat. 

Mare turned on the radio and adjusted it until she found something she liked. He didn't recognize it, but it was slow and steady. He didn't mind it. He didn't mind much of Mare's music and he was pretty sure that she made an effort to pick things he wouldn't hate.

The clock under the radio said 10:30. It was at least 30 minutes back to the hotel. Bucky glanced over at Mare or more specifically to the scar. Definitely from a knife. And probably a very close call too. It was less than an inch from her pulse point. Any closer and she likely would have bled out. The thought disturbed him. A lot.

The words came out of his mouth before he could stop them, "That scar. That's what made the vampires recognize you right?"

Mare glanced over him in surprise then focused on the road. "Yeah, I got it pretty early on in my hunting career."

She ran a finger over it absentmindedly and he knew that she was remembering what had happened.

"What did it?" He wasn't entirely sure he was going to get an answer. He still had questions about the 'to hell and back's part too.

She sighed and put both hands on the wheel again. "Demon. A pretty powerful one actually. He was one of those bounty hunter ones. The only reason I survived was because he had this weird thing where he always wanted to beat you in a 'fair fight', so he'd kidnap you and then you'd fight it out. Usually with knives. I won, clearly."

"Clearly." He supposed he should wonder about how she'd killed what was probably a centuries old demon, but somehow it didn't surprise him. He did wonder about what she'd done to get a bounty on her head, but from the tone of her voice he could tell that she was done talking. He didn't want to push her any farther than necessary. She was tired and in pain. He could ask later.


	6. Sharing Trauma: A True Bonding Experience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. School's been rough. It's a little shorter than usual, but it's full of angst and comfort! Please enjoy.

They'd left early the next morning and had gotten food at a diner a few towns over. Mare got a burger, fries, and a milkshake despite the fact that it was 7:30 in the morning. At least she got a standard vanilla one instead of fucking cake batter. He still wasn’t over that. He got the diner’s breakfast special with bacon, pancakes, and grits.

White bandages wrapped around her thumb and down around both her wrists. She didn't seem to be moving as if she was in pain. He’d seen her pop painkillers before they’d left though, so her ribs were probably hurting her more than she wanted to admit. His shoulder was still sore, but no more than it ever had been the day after he’d done strenuous activity. 

“You know,” Mare said as she munched on her fries, “It just occurred to me, how did you convince the Avengers to let you leave? I mean I’m assuming that you didn’t tell them about me or the werewolf, so what did you tell them?”

Bucky finished chewing, "I just told them that I wanted a break and that I wanted to take a road trip and see the sights. Like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone and other stuff like that."

"Huh," Mare said and took a sip of her milkshake. She turned to watch traffic out of the window. “I hunted a bear skinwalker in Yellowstone once. Super rare by the way. It was grabbing hikers, but I didn’t stop to sight see.” She turned back to him, “I haven’t been to the Grand Canyon at all."

“Really?” Bucky asked, surprised. 

“Yeah, I rarely ever stop at places like that, but better late than never. We can keep heading west, then drive up the coast of California. I have done that before and it’s really beautiful. I highly recommend it.” She finished off her burger.

“Sounds good.”

Mare nodded and then dragged her milkshake closer and started dipping her fries in it. Bucky paused in eating for a moment to stare at her. She met his stare and ate another milkshake dipped fry as she did. “Something the matter Bucky?” She was clearly trying to keep from smiling.

“I thought that you eating milkshakes without the cherry was bad enough, but what the hell Mare?”

She laughed and dipped in another fry. She held it out for him. “Don’t knock it till you try it Bucky.” He eyed the extended fry as if it were poisonous. Mare wiggled it at him, “I promise it won’t kill you.” 

When he continued to hesitate she pulled it back and put it in her mouth. “A shame Bucky, but it’s okay to be scared to try new things.” She dipped another one and ate it, not even trying to hide the smug look on her face.

Bucky stared at her. Was he really going to let himself fall for this? Mare picked up another fry and slowly dipped it, clearly making a show of it. Silently he put his hand out, she grinned and handed the fry to him. 

He took it from her and unceremoniously shoved it into his mouth. Mare watched him, amused as his nose wrinkled slightly. The taste wasn’t... bad. The salt from the fry and the sweetness of the milkshake actually paired together rather nicely. The texture was a little weird though. The milkshake made the fry a little soggy.

“It’s not awful,” he finally admitted.

Mare grinned, “I’ll take it Bucky.” He rolled his eyes and drank the rest of his coffee. 

Bucky's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out, ignoring the question in Mare's eyes. He was pretty sure he knew who it was. A glance at the screen told him that it was indeed Steve. 

He got up from the table. "I'm gonna take this outside."

"Okay, I'll pay and meet you out there."

He nodded and exited the diner and answered. “Hey, Steve.” He walked over and leaned against the truck.

“Hey, Bucky. How’s your trip going?”

“Pretty good actually. It’s been nice just driving and taking it slow.” Or sitting in the passenger seat while Mare does 90 on the interstate. Same thing right?

“Oh, really? How far have you made it?”

“Well, I’m down in Louisiana right now, but I drove through Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. Stopped in some of their state parks. As it turns out nature is pretty relaxing.” Especially when you’re hunting monsters in it. Very relaxing.

“That’s good Buck I'm glad. You deserve relaxing.” 

“Thanks and you deserve relaxing just as much as me, but I doubt you’re doing it punk.”

Steve laughed, “I’ll rest when I’m dead, Buck. You know that.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “Of course." He was quiet for a moment then asked, "How’s everyone at the compound doing?”

“They’re good, they’re good. Wanda’s gotten much better control over her powers and Sam finally scored a date with Hill.”

Bucky chuckled, “Took him long enough to wear her down. On that note how’s Sharon doing?”

“I-uh, I she’s good, she’s good.” Bucky could practically hear Steve blushing.

“Good for you both. Don't let her go Steve.” 

Steve chuckled, “Thanks Buck. Which reminds me, met anyone interesting out there on the road, yet?” He could hear the smile in Steve’s voice. He knew exactly what Steve was implying and for whatever reason Mare’s face came to mind. He shook it off. Jesus, that was the last thing they needed. Not that Mare wasn’t beautiful and smart and strong and resourceful and could kick his ass. The exact opposite really. But still, that wasn’t what this was about.

“Not exactly a priority right now Steve,” Bucky said dryly. “But thanks for your concern.” Now Steve was the one trying to get him to go on dates instead of it being the other way around. Oh, how the tables had turned. 

“That’s what I’m here for Buck.” 

Mare came out of the diner and made her way slowly to the truck, giving him time to wrap up his call privately. "Right well I’ve gotta go Steve. Talk to you later.”

“Oh, alright. Bye, Bucky.”

“Bye Steve,” he hung up. Mare unlocked the truck and they both got in. 

...

Mare started the truck and pulled out of the parking lot. "Just a warning Bucky it takes like three days to drive through Texas." It was usually the farthest west that she liked to go, but she’d make an exception this time. It was a little odd that despite the fact that she’d crossed the U.S. at least half a dozen times she still hadn’t stopped in places like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone. Her favorite had always been the ones she’d stumbled across. Usually pretty far off the beaten path.

"Really?” Bucky asked. “Even with you driving?”

She ignored the jab. “Yeah, and that includes the fact that the interstate and highway speed limits go from 70 mph to 80. But no matter how fast you go you will always have a lifted Dodge Ram riding your ass. Fucking doucebags.”

“I’ll keep a look out for them.” Bucky told her dryly. 

Mare rolled her eyes. She hummed for a moment then asked, “Was that Steve on the phone?”

She saw him shoot her a look out of the corner of her eye, “Yeah, why?”

“Oh, no reason. Just curiosity.”

“I didn’t tell him about you. If that’s what you're asking.”

Mare grinned, “It wasn’t, but I appreciate it all the same.” She paused for a moment then said, “I don’t mind being your dirty secret Barnes.”

Bucky choked on air and sent her an incredulous look. Mare laughed, “I’d say I’m sorry, but that would be a lie.”

“Yes, because you clearly have a problem with lying,” he said sarcastically.

“Do you really think you get to cast that particular stone Mr. Spy Assassin Extraordinaire?”

“I didn’t do all that much spying you know,” he muttered darkly.

Mare heard the unspoken words. Just killing. She just shrugged and dropped the topic, sensing that she’d just approached some unspoken line. Instead she turned on the radio and resettled in her seat.

After a few minutes though, Bucky surprised her by turning down the radio. “I have a question,” he stated. 

She gave him an odd look out of the corner of her eye. It was the first time he hadn’t straight up asked a question, which told her that he was more than unlikely unsure about what her reaction would be. “Shoot.”

He hesitated for a moment then said, “That vampire the other night. He called you ‘one of the ones who had been to hell and back’-” shit “-What did that mean exactly?”

Mare knew exactly what he was talking about. And she also really, really didn’t want to talk about it. Her hands tightened on the wheel and she clenched her jaw tightly. Memories threatened to swarm her- chains and blood and darkness. The screaming of other souls, the knowledge that she would be next, that there was no escape, that there was only suffering. But most of all it was the cruel cut of Abigor’s smile as he loomed over her, flip, flip, flipping his knife. She saw that smile in her nightmares.

Mare took a deep breath and focused on the road. Forced herself to breathe. Bucky had gone tense beside her, clearly sensing that he too had stumbled across some unspoken line. 

“Sorry for asking, Mare,” he mumbled quietly. Unaware of what he’d triggered, but still aware that he had. And he was trying to apologize for it. 

Her grip on the wheel loosened slightly. “It’s fine Bucky. You didn’t know.” She moved to turn the radio back on. “All I’m gonna say on the matter is that the vampire meant what he said literally.” She turned it on and messed with the tune until she found something smooth and crooning.

Mare watched out of the corner of her eye as he realized what she must have meant. The slight horror and shock that he couldn’t hide. She didn’t know why she’d told him anything at all. She knew that what she’d told him had brought up more questions than answers, but she also wasn’t ready to talk about it anymore. She hadn’t talked about it in full with anyone, ever. Not even Dean and he would have understood better than anyone. Then again he wasn’t all that big on sharing. It had been hard to be the one always sharing and having nothing offered in return. Just another reason why they’d never worked out. Fuck she should really stop thinking about this stuff. She really needed a drink.

…

Mare drove for hours and neither of them said a word. For once Mare was okay with it. They stopped briefly for lunch and then kept driving. She drove until the truck needed gas. She stopped at a gas station in Abilene, Texas and filled up the truck.

She was hungry and tried, and in no mood to stay in the truck any longer. She got takeout and beer and rented a hotel. There was no argument from Bucky, in fact he had barely said two words since he’d apologized. They were both sitting at the table and Mare could feel the guilt radiating off of him. 

She didn’t blame him for bringing up the memories, but he clearly blamed himself. Maybe she should have faked feeling better throughout today, but she suspected he would have seen through that. Memories had a lot of power. It was stupid to deny it. Maybe… maybe it was time to take some of that power back. There never was a good time for sharing. She started picking at the label on her beer bottle. She cared about Bucky and what he thought about her. The idea that he might think that she had just died and gone to hell for no other reason than the fact that she deserved it, didn’t sit well.

“There was a demon a while ago that disobeyed the King of Hell, Crowley. He found out and the demon high-tailed it. But before he could Crowley marked him so that his personal hellhounds would know who to bring back. The demon was looking for a way to get the mark off and that was drawing a lot of dark magic, and unfortunately that drew me too.” 

Bucky straightened up in his chair, clearly sensing where this was headed. She felt his gaze on her, but she ignored it and kept her focus on the bottle in her hand. She knew that he’d give her an out, but… she needed to get through this.

“He made me as soon as I'd gotten into town and I’d exorcised demons before, but I was nowhere near prepared for a demon of that caliber. He switched the mark from him to me and… when the hellhounds came they came for me. Dragged me down to hell instead of him.”

She swallowed and leaned back in her chair, still not looking at him. “Hell is… Well it’s hell. It’s every torture you can think of, it’s your worst memories played again and again and again, it’s every fear you’ve ever had. It’s...” She shook her head. “It’s worse than you want to imagine. So, I suggest that you don’t.”

Mare went quiet then, caught in the swirling darkness of her memories. “How did you get out?” Bucky prompted softly.

She took a deep breath before continuing, glad that Bucky had realized that she was going down a rabbit hole. “The Winchesters, they... they found me and didn’t stop until they found out what happened. And when they realized it wasn’t a mortal death and where exactly I was, they decided that they were going to get me out. And when the Winchesters decide to do something they will do it no matter the cost or the risk. Especially when it comes to family.

“They tried to demand that Crowley just release me, but that would be far too easy. Crowely told them that if they could return the demon that had defied him then he would release me. It took them a couple of months to find him and when they did, Crowely followed through. Only he’s a slimy bastard and he didn’t just put me back into my body. All he did was open my cell door. It was up to me to actually get myself out.

“I did, clearly, and I stole the knife they’d been working to recreate in the process.” She put the beer bottle down and pulled the demon knife out of her jacket. She held up and the dim light reflected across the dull metal. “Why they wanted to recreate one of the only weapons that could kill them I’ll never know, but I do know that they’ll always have a vendetta against me.” 

Mare put the knife back into her jacket. “You should probably be aware of that. There are few that are stupid enough to try anymore, but it happens on occasion.” Bucky should know that. He should know just in case. In fact he should probably leave; what demons were capable of was pretty much his worst nightmare. Sticking with her probably wouldn’t end well for him. It hadn’t ended well for anyone else. But she really shouldn’t go down that road. Not right now. She reached for another beer, but as she did something warm and calloused touched her hand. 

She blinked in surprise and jerked her head towards their hands. Bucky had placed his hand over hers and was gently rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. It was the first time he’d purposefully initiated any contact with her. It took her a few moments to work up the courage to look him in the eye. There was no pity in his gaze and no fear, just understanding. She knew that he probably saw all the thoughts swirling around in her head.

Mare looked back at their hands. His hand was calloused and scar flecked. His knuckles were scarred over. Some of his fingers were slightly crooked, like they’d been broken. So, similar to her own hands. Hands that were used to guns and knives and violence. Not made to comfort. At first glance nothing about him seemed to be made for comfort. And when you knew about his past it seemed even less likely. Yet here he was, trying his best to console her. 

All she could manage was a small smile in thanks and she slowly slid her hand from out from under his. He pulled his own hand back and didn’t seem offended that she had. It was too much and too little at the same time, but she appreciated it all the same. He seemed to understand that. “Seems like I’m not the only one who has a habit of shoving people away huh, Mare?”

Good he did know. “I have no idea what you’re talking about Bucky,” she murmured quietly.

Bucky leaned back a little. “I know you don’t.”

He stared out the curtains for a moment then said, “Ever since I got away from H.Y.D.R.A. I’ve tried to make up for what I did as the Soldier. And I know that it wasn’t really me, that I was forced and brainwashed, but... I still pulled the trigger. I still see their faces, almost every night. And I wonder if I’m even worth redemption. If I deserve it. Wondered that if after I die I would end up in Hell. If I deserved it.” He said it so quietly and matter of factly, like he had accepted damnation. Even though he clearly wasn’t going to stop fighting. Apparently she was a bit of a magnet for men like that. 

Bucky looked back at her, eyes impossibly sad, shoulders bearing the weight of the world. Mare looked away and took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure what to tell him. How to comfort him in return, but he’d done it for her, so she could do the same. Even more she couldn’t let him think for a moment that he deserved such a fate. “I don’t know who goes to Hell and Heaven, Bucky; who deserves damnation and who deserves saving.”

She met his eye. “But I can tell you that out of the many monsters I’ve met and all the different reasons they kill, I believe that very few deserve eternal damnation. You don’t come anywhere close to the ones that do.”

Bucky looked down to hide the expression on his face. “Then what do I deserve?” He asked bitterly.

It was a rhetorical question, but she answered anyway. “I think you deserve some peace Bucky,” she said softly. After everything that he’d been through, everything he continued to put himself through, he deserved peace and happiness. And maybe that was a stupid and childish thing to hope for, but it was all that she wished for herself. Eventually.

He turned to her. She watched as multiple emotions crossed his face, surprise, disbelief, and maybe something like gratitude. There was a question there as well. One that she didn’t feel like answering. So, she shrugged and stood up. “I’m gonna take a shower.” She’d reached her limit on sharing; for tonight anyway.

He nodded and she grabbed her bag and went into the bathroom. The door shut with a quiet click. Mare let out a deep breath and rubbed a hand over her face. She felt heavy from the weight of those memories, but also oddly light. It had been a long time since she’d shared like that, since she’d had someone to share with. It made her realize just how lonely she’d been.

...

Something alerted Mare from sleep. She became fully awake immediately (something that only happened when something unknown woke her up). But the only movement she made was to slide her hand under her pillow and wrap it around the hilt of her knife. Her gun was on the bedside table. Unless someone or something was actively after her did she keep her gun under her pillow. 

After a few seconds Mare realized that what had woken her up were the sounds of rustling sheets and someone mumbling quietly. She released the handle of her knife and turned over. Bucky was twitching violently in his bed and kept mumbling in what she was pretty sure was Russian.

Shit. He was clearly having a nightmare. She sat up and considered her options. Usually he woke himself up from his nightmares, then dressed quietly, and went outside. She suspected that he probably just sat out there and brooded. Maybe took a walk. He was always quiet, but Mare had been taught to be alert even while sleeping since she was little. She never reacted to him though, just identified the noise that had woken her up and then gone back to sleep. She doubted he even knew he woke her up.

Mare couldn’t just leave him stuck in a nightmare, but she also knew that no good would come from trying to touch him in this state. So, she did the only thing she could and threw her pillow at him. He jerked up in shock, breath coming out in pants. His gun was up, pointing at an invisible enemy.

Mare leaned over and turned on the bedside lamp. It took Bucky a few minutes to calm down. When he did he lowered his gun then looked down at his lap, in which was the pillow she’d thrown at him.

He looked up at her with a slightly incredulous expression. “Did you- did you just throw a pillow at me?” His voice came out slightly raspy. 

“Yes,” she held out her hand, “I’d like it back now.” He stared at her for a long moment as if trying to figure out if she was serious.

Mare just held his gaze and waited. He tossed it to her and she caught it and put it down, shifting the pillows around until she was happy with them. She settled back down facing Bucky, who had wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his chin on them. 

She supposed that with what they had shared it was only a matter of time before one of them had a nightmare. “You want to talk about it Bucky?” She asked quietly.

He didn’t even look up at the sound of her voice. “No, not really.”

“Okay.” Mare moved to turn off the light and go back to sleep, but she hesitated. Her mind conjured an image of Bucky curled up sitting in the dark. Alone. Well not technically alone, but she felt as though she was leaving him alone. Alone in the dark with his demons. The thought didn’t sit well, so she turned back and picked up the remote off the bedside table.

The TV turned on; an ad for McDonald’s was playing. She started flicking through channels. It was unlikely that there would be anything good on, but something was better than nothing. Something for Bucky to focus on other than whatever his nightmare had been about. 

She hesitated slightly on something black and white, but soon realized it was some Western. She’d often stayed up late and watched them with Dean when they were younger and waiting for their parents to get back, but they were a little violent to watch right after a nightmare. 

Bucky lifted his head from his knees and turned to her, “What are you doing?”

“Looking for something good to watch.” Mare continued flicking through the channels. A familiar theme song caught her attention and she stopped. Gilligan’s Island was on. She hummed along happily to the theme song. It was an old show from the sixties, but she remembered watching it with her parents whenever it was on. It was about a group of people that had been shipwrecked on an island with Gilligan being the main comedic relief character. 

“Why?”

Mare set down the remote and settled into the bed as the beginning credits rolled and the theme song played. “So, you have something to focus on, other than whatever your nightmare was about.”

He frowned deeply, but then resettled himself in the bed and turned his attention to the screen. Well at least he wasn’t arguing with her. They watched an episode in relative silence, but to Mare’s satisfaction, Bucky slowly relaxed. He didn’t lay back down, but the tightness in his muscles released and it looked like he almost smiled a few times. It was a win in Mare’s book.


End file.
